Aviso Wealth Management Buys Shares of 5,396 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Aviso Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,396 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $488,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Walmart Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $0.68 on Friday, hitting $84.95. The company had a trading volume of 8,724,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,143,529. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.76 and a 200-day moving average of $89.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $681.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Citigroup reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.