Dodge & Cox Decreases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Dodge & Cox lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,310 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 13,800 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox's holdings in Walmart were worth $16,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 worth $3,796,129,000 after buying an additional 514,036 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of WMT traded up $1.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.17. The company had a trading volume of 21,350,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,819,973. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $91.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $746.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,782 shares of company stock worth $16,785,305 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.58.

Walmart Company Profile

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.