Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,594,400 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 54,531 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.7% of Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $234,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer's stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $86.64. The stock had a trading volume of 9,421,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,058,412. The firm has a market capitalization of $694.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.95, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50 day moving average is $94.62 and its 200 day moving average is $89.40. 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 twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 in the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.