F M Investments LLC Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

F M Investments LLC increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 163,487 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 9,223 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $14,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,289,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,860,189 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in Walmart by 1,707.6% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $324,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Three 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.58.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded up $1.20 during trading on Monday, hitting $94.00. The stock had a trading volume of 10,248,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,631,520. The stock has a market capitalization of $753.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.00, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company's 50-day moving average price is $92.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.95. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. 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 (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart 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.