Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,773,505 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 714,028 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.6% of Prudential Financial Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.06% of Walmart worth $431,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, 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 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Tigress Financial increased 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. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:WMT traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $85.62. The stock had a trading volume of 16,763,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,064,120. 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 company has a market capitalization of $686.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.53, 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $94.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.20.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Walmart Company 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.