Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 18,896 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 737,090 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,896 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $66,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of WMT opened at $91.68 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.44.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

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.