Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Trims Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 116,694 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,883 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $10,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $94.74 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $761.04 billion, a PE ratio of 39.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.03.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

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.