Legal & General Group Plc Has $2.29 Billion Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,370,566 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 8,182,096 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.6% of Legal & General Group Plc's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.32% of Walmart worth $2,292,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 173,231 shares of the retailer's stock worth $13,988,000 after purchasing an additional 9,088 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.9% in the third quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 50,159 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 74.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the retailer's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 0.8% during the third quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 56,997 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,603,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued 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 an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.17.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $83.09 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market capitalization of $666.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $94.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. 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.

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