Donaldson Capital Management LLC Sells 254 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,834 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 254 shares during the quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 209.7% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $79,960,000 after purchasing an additional 599,257 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Finally, Iowa State Bank raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $87.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $702.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $96.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.61. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year 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 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.