Norden Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Norden Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,622 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 295 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MMA Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC now owns 3,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 132,091 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 11,002 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 51,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,698,000 after acquiring an additional 12,738 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 92,389 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,347,000 after acquiring an additional 9,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 7,421 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $98.65 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.90 and a 200 day moving average of $87.58. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.20 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $792.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp boosted their price target 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. Roth Mkm reissued 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.