Invesco Ltd. Acquires 368,711 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,365,122 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 368,711 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.5% of Invesco Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.35% of Walmart worth $2,562,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $90.61. The company had a trading volume of 20,903,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,518,702. The stock has a market cap of $726.44 billion, a PE ratio of 37.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $92.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.73. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Walmart's payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.43.

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.