Second Half Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 48.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,401 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Second Half Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 2.4% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after purchasing an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.58.
View Our Latest Report on Walmart
Walmart Price Performance
WMT traded down $0.01 on Thursday, reaching $97.24. The company had a trading volume of 6,875,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,236,598. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.58 and a 52-week high of $105.30. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.10. The company has a market cap of $778.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.
Walmart Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart
In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $374,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,096,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,518,542.50. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 169,657 shares of company stock worth $15,984,929. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.
Walmart Company Profile
(
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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