DnB Asset Management AS Has $133.90 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,482,017 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 236,790 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 0.6% of DnB Asset Management AS's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Walmart were worth $133,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

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Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT traded up $1.66 on Monday, reaching $86.81. The company had a trading volume of 10,197,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,885,841. The company has a market capitalization of $695.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.02, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.62 and a 200-day moving average of $89.40. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

About Walmart

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.