Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Raises Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,118 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 4,248 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 798,837 shares of the retailer's stock worth $72,351,000 after buying an additional 382,629 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Walmart by 710.3% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 495,085 shares of the retailer's stock worth $44,731,000 after acquiring an additional 433,983 shares during the period. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $756,000. Centric Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 158.6% during the 4th quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 22,378 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,022,000 after purchasing an additional 13,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFC Capital Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. PFC Capital Group Inc. now owns 33,464 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,023,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 176,652 shares of company stock valued at $16,590,028. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on WMT. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $1.05 on Wednesday, hitting $89.88. 19,058,138 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,996,110. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.52. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $720.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

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.