Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 39,494 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P trimmed its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 44.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,982 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 39,494 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P's holdings in Walmart were worth $4,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 6,388 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $906,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 232,999 shares of the retailer's stock worth $21,051,000 after purchasing an additional 56,002 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Walmart by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 963,184 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $87,024,000 after purchasing an additional 56,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $849,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $2.79 during trading on Monday, hitting $87.94. The company had a trading volume of 30,255,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,963,785. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $94.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.40. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one 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 firm has a market capitalization of $704.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 1.07%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.