Pavion Blue Capital LLC Has $9.68 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Pavion Blue Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,079 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 485 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 4.5% of Pavion Blue Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Pavion Blue Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the third 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 period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after buying an additional 350,881 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.57. 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 12-month low of $57.77 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

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.