Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 31,300 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 880,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 31,300 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.8% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Walmart were worth $79,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,820,606 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $470,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.77 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.63 and a 200 day moving average of $86.57.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.43.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.