Strategy Asset Managers LLC Has $8.43 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,282 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,868 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 1.6% of Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $270,000. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP grew its position in shares of Walmart by 252.5% in the third quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 104,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,398,000 after purchasing an additional 74,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.2% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,054 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were 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 $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the 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 directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WMT. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6 %

WMT opened at $85.08 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $94.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a PEG 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 results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $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 39.00%.

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.