Certuity LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Certuity LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 38.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,820 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,191 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after buying an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,852,277,000 after buying an additional 426,388 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,698,519,000 after buying an additional 1,317,729 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,765,278 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,361,411,000 after purchasing an additional 562,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,011,647 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,081,120,000 after purchasing an additional 78,981 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at $29,565,756.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 530,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,565,756.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of WMT stock traded down $0.82 on Tuesday, reaching $59.42. 7,358,139 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,621,055. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.34 and a twelve month high of $61.65. The company has a market capitalization of $478.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.86.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Europe boosted their target price on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

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.