Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,818,278 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 220,165 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.07% of Walmart worth $289,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 78,345 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,351,000 after acquiring an additional 15,448 shares during the period. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. raised its position in Walmart by 26.6% in the third quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 252,600 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,398,000 after acquiring an additional 53,000 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,480,971 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $235,608,000 after acquiring an additional 21,899 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,117,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $338,602,000 after purchasing an additional 518,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 48,468 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,751,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

WMT traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,207,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,769,110. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.34 and a twelve month high of $61.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $60.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.