Invesco Ltd. Has $2.56 Billion Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,365,122 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 368,711 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.5% of Invesco Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,562,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 173,231 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,988,000 after buying an additional 9,088 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 4.9% in the third quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 50,159 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,050,000 after buying an additional 2,344 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Walmart by 74.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.8% in the third quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 56,997 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,603,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $83.09 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $94.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.67. The firm has a market cap of $666.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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 forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

About Walmart

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.