Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,121,063 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 579,868 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Walmart worth $646,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.17.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Walmart
Walmart Stock Performance
Walmart stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.08. The company had a trading volume of 14,780,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,910,594. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.62 and a 200 day moving average of $89.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.
Walmart Dividend Announcement
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 paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart
In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.
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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