Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 25,529,902 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. Walmart makes up about 0.9% of Raymond James Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.32% of Walmart at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during 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 buying an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $96.00 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $96.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.09. 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 company has a market capitalization of $771.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.