Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 2,050,683 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.7% of Vanguard Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Walmart worth $38,194,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value 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. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $85.94 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $95.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.04. The firm has a market cap of $688.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 1.09%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.