Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,767,365 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 33,846 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $157,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised 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 buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 514,036 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $83.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $666.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $94.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.67.

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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 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current 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 dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.

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