Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Purchases 8,125 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 222,839 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,125 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT's holdings in Walmart were worth $20,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 42,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,879,000 after acquiring an additional 20,300 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 161,277 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $14,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,623 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 43,270 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,909,000 after buying an additional 3,737 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Capital Corp MA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,930,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. 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 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded down $2.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $94.70. 34,962,340 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,919,441. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.25. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.77 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.43.

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.