World Investment Advisors Purchases 19,233 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 19,233 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.7% of World Investment Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Walmart were worth $24,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $4.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.09. The company had a trading volume of 36,185,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,182,696. The firm has a market cap of $666.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $94.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.59. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year 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.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Walmart 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.