Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Holdings Cut by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,435 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,515 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.9% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $2,306,627,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,289,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,860,189 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.3% during 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 period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WMT opened at $85.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $687.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $95.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.89.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

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.