Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 13,902 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,902 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,256,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,860,189 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1,707.6% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $324,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.58.

Walmart Trading Down 0.9 %

Walmart stock traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $95.02. The stock had a trading volume of 15,311,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,830,103. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $761.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.58 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.91.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,533 shares of company stock worth $13,241,740. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.