West Michigan Advisors LLC Sells 3,097 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

West Michigan Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,773 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,097 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 1.2% of West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $98.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.20 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $95.90 and its 200-day moving average is $87.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $792.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.