Waverly Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Waverly Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 53.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 303,821 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 105,342 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $27,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,860,189 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 valued at $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:WMT opened at $98.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $784.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.87 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.66.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.94.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 134,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,445,082 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently 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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