Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,612 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,049,000.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 3.3% during 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial raised their target price 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.20.
View Our Latest Analysis on Walmart
Walmart Stock Down 0.4 %
WMT opened at $87.44 on Wednesday. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $96.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.61. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $702.40 billion, a PE ratio of 36.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.
Walmart Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Walmart's payout ratio is presently 39.00%.
Walmart Company Profile
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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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