Vident Advisory LLC Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 78.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 508,776 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 223,914 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.8% of Vident Advisory LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $45,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.94.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $98.26 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.19 and a 200-day moving average of $92.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.87 and a 12-month high of $105.30. 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 market cap of $786.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.77, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,857 shares of company stock worth $12,444,743 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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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