Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,153 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $285,000.
Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.
Walmart Price Performance
Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $96.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $772.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.04, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.16 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $92.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.90. 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 (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.
Walmart Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reduced their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.94.
View Our Latest Research Report on WMT
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,583 shares of company stock worth $16,701,404 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.
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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