Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,893,930 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 234,658 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $261,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % 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 valued at $16,785,080 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.17.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Walmart
Walmart Price Performance
Walmart stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $83.65. 36,845,575 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,253,447. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $94.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.67. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $670.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.
Walmart Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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