Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 38,655 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 38,655 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,492,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,533 shares of company stock valued at $13,241,740 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $95.02 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.58 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $761.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $90.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.91.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.58.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.