Choate Investment Advisors Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Choate Investment Advisors grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 301,477 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 22,961 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 0.7% of Choate Investment Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Walmart were worth $27,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of WMT opened at $85.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.62.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

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.