Sienna Gestion Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sienna Gestion boosted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 864.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 94,555 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,749 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $84.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $677.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.