Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 75,418 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,943,247 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,418 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $175,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 56,956 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,146,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. First Financial Group Corp purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $288,000. Harbour Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $278,000. Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,170,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $85.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.74 and a 200 day moving average of $88.62.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 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.