AGF Management Ltd. Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,866 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 7,820 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during 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 brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.20.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 2.7 %

Walmart stock opened at $85.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $683.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The business's 50-day moving average price is $95.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.59. 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 (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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