Navellier & Associates Inc. Acquires 2,799 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 69.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,826 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,799 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in Walmart by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 34,666 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,461 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 42,257 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 8,369 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 78,648 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,351,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.77 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.57. The stock has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 34.44%.

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.