Bridgewater Associates LP Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 72.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 779,487 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,064,838 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Walmart were worth $70,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 178,782 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,305. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $1.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $93.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,350,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,797,031. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.18. 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 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $746.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

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.