Wealth Architects LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wealth Architects LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,867 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 898 shares during the period. Wealth Architects LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $85.29 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.74 and a 200-day moving average of $88.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

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.