Townsend & Associates Inc Sells 1,997 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Townsend & Associates Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 231,179 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,997 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 2.2% of Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $21,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,820,606 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $470,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.57. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.77 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

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.