Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,701 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,092 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.0% of Sentry Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Sentry Investment Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $2,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 10,221 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Amarillo National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 84,982 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,862,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.1% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 4,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.5% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 5,232 shares of the retailer's stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup restated a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.43.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on WMT
Walmart Price Performance
Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $93.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $752.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.18 and a 52 week high of $105.30.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Walmart Announces Dividend
The business 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 dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart
In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 194,377 shares of company stock worth $18,231,904 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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