Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 15,700 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 751,130 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,700 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.0% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $67,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 169,657 shares of company stock valued at $15,984,929 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. 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 Walmart stock opened at $98.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.39 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $789.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

About Walmart

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.