Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Acquires 667 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,752 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock worth $13,849,185 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $785.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.59, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.18 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) 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. The company 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, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 0.96%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

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.