Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,517 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd 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 period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th 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 period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $91.68 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.26. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $736.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

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.