Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Johnson Financial Group Inc.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,765 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 956 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Motco raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 58,301 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,191,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 78,345 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,351,000 after purchasing an additional 15,448 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,340,000. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,117,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $338,602,000 after purchasing an additional 518,896 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.01.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total transaction of $228,523,137.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,860,933,910.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,221,033 shares of company stock valued at $518,194,888 in the last quarter. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.38. The company had a trading volume of 11,658,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,698,928. The company has a market cap of $526.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.73 and its 200-day moving average is $56.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.34 and a fifty-two week high of $65.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.52%.

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.