Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Takes $603,000 Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,824 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $603,000.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded down $0.36 on Monday, reaching $59.46. 2,030,881 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,407,285. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.34 and a 12 month high of $61.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $60.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $479.13 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Walmart Profile

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.