Certified Advisory Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Certified Advisory Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,449 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after acquiring an additional 751,713 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,852,277,000 after acquiring an additional 426,388 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $3,674,652,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,698,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,765,278 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,361,411,000 after buying an additional 562,256 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.30 on Wednesday, hitting $65.45. The stock had a trading volume of 5,663,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,698,994. The stock has a market cap of $527.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $65.69. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 35.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Stifel Europe lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.01.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,473,631,458.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total transaction of $781,068.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 219,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,065,241.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,743,215 shares of company stock worth $1,587,502,040. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

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.