Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 306,294 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 9,653 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 2.9% of Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $27,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $94.70 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.77 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.