Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Purchases 20,705 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 32.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,586 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 20,705 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after purchasing an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,852,277,000 after purchasing an additional 426,388 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,698,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,729 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,765,278 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,361,411,000 after acquiring an additional 562,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,011,647 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,081,120,000 after acquiring an additional 78,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631 over the last quarter. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

WMT stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.82. 14,207,397 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,769,110. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.99. The company has a market cap of $482.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.