Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $27.65 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 78.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 306,053 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 134,149 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.9% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $27,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $85.08 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $94.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors 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 yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.