Mariner LLC Acquires 148,488 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,728,779 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 148,488 shares during the period. Mariner LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $336,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,289,419,000 after purchasing an additional 6,860,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in 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. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1,707.6% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer's stock worth $324,410,000 after buying an additional 3,512,368 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.97. The company had a trading volume of 21,858,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,742,921. The stock has a market cap of $753.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company's 50 day moving average price is $92.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.58.

About Walmart

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.