Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Purchases 742 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,072 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after buying an additional 6,860,189 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 176,652 shares of company stock worth $16,590,028. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

WMT opened at $89.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $720.55 billion, a PE ratio of 37.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.