American Money Management LLC Buys Shares of 4,221 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

American Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,221 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after buying an additional 6,860,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised 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 worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $85.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.32. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This trade 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 the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.