Northern Financial Advisors Inc Acquires 1,041 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,171 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 1.5% of Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after buying an additional 751,713 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,852,277,000 after purchasing an additional 426,388 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,698,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,729 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,765,278 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,361,411,000 after purchasing an additional 562,256 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,011,647 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,081,120,000 after buying an additional 78,981 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.42. The stock had a trading volume of 4,229,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,306,791. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $48.34 and a one year high of $61.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $486.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.38%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631 in the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.94.

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.