BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,094,812 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 108,437 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.6% of BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Walmart were worth $98,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,035 shares of company stock worth $12,445,082 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.16 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $782.57 billion, a PE ratio of 40.59, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $91.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Walmart's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho started coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on 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-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.94.

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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