Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Westchester Capital Management Inc.

Westchester Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 257,877 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 12,154 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 5.9% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $23,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $103.20.

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Walmart Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $87.44 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $96.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $702.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued 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 is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % 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 valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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