Aristotle Capital Management LLC Invests $218,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Aristotle Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 2,415 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 169,657 shares of company stock valued at $15,984,929. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.58.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WMT opened at $98.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.14 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $789.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.97, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s fifty day moving average is $90.52 and its 200-day moving average is $91.33.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.