Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Raised by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 0.5% of Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,893,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Walmart by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,820,606 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $470,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 194,377 shares of company stock worth $18,231,904. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.43.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $93.64 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.18 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.89. The firm has a market cap of $752.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.