Mascoma Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Mascoma Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 138.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 745 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $67,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % 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. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $85.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $683.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.59.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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 is currently 39.00%.

Walmart Company 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.