Erste Asset Management GmbH decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194,707 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 22,150 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Walmart were worth $17,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in 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 during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. KeyCorp lifted 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. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.20.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Walmart
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Walmart Trading Down 2.7 %
Shares of WMT stock opened at $85.07 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.59. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $683.43 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.
Walmart Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.
About Walmart
(
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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