Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Optivise Advisory Services LLC

Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,062 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 282 shares during the quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $541,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 10.9% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $504,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $93.17 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $746.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.40. 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 data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at $49,332,475.50. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,782 shares of company stock worth $16,785,305 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.58.

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.