Ascent Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ascent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,537 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $85.29 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 simple moving average is $95.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.