Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 407,263 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 52,547 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 1.9% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $36,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 37.1% during 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.17.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on WMT
Walmart Price Performance
Shares of WMT traded down $2.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $87.10. 32,983,467 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,069,447. The company has a market cap of $698.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.50. 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 (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.
Walmart Announces Dividend
The business 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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart
In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 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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