Achmea Investment Management B.V. Has $71.44 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 790,743 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 51,723 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.2% of Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $71,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,072,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 209.7% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after acquiring an additional 599,257 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position in Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iowa State Bank increased its position in Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $85.07 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.59. The company has a market cap of $683.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Walmart Company 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.