Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,110 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,035,551 over the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of WMT stock traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $59.30. 5,647,053 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,597,359. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.98 and its 200-day moving average is $55.86. The company has a market cap of $477.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. 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 fifty-two week low of $48.34 and a fifty-two week high of $61.65.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.