Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,612 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,049,000.
Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer's stock worth $431,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $231,000. FDx Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 6,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,884 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,413,000 after acquiring an additional 3,693 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.20.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Walmart
WMT stock traded down $2.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $85.07. 33,276,921 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,857,007. The stock has a market capitalization of $683.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.
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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