Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 44,238 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,173,166 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 44,238 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $196,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WMT opened at $98.73 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.39 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $90.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.40. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 169,657 shares of company stock valued at $15,984,929. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.