United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 508,086 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 162,554 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $45,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after purchasing an additional 514,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.58.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Walmart
Walmart Stock Up 2.2 %
Walmart stock traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $93.17. 21,350,174 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,797,031. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.71 and a 200 day moving average of $90.18. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $746.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart
In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,782 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,305 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
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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