SageOak Financial LLC Purchases New Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

SageOak Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,388 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $396,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in 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 raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % 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 valued at $17,657,316 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 2.2 %

WMT stock opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.93. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $687.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

About Walmart

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.