Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 52.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,287 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,129 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.2 %

WMT stock opened at $89.88 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $94.38 and its 200 day moving average is $89.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $720.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.29, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 176,652 shares of company stock valued at $16,590,028. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

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.