Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 737,090 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 18,896 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $66,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $237,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 132,180 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,674,000 after purchasing an additional 10,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 15.4% in the third quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 4,292 shares of the retailer's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $103.20.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Walmart
Walmart Stock Performance
WMT stock traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $85.78. 8,235,128 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,787,613. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock's 50-day moving average is $96.07 and its 200 day moving average is $88.61. 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 cap of $689.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.59, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.
Walmart Dividend Announcement
The business 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 $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.
About Walmart
(
Free Report)
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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