Lingotto Investment Management LLP Acquires New Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Lingotto Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 92,000 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $8,312,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the third 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. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 4.4 %

NYSE WMT opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $785.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. 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 12 month low of $58.18 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.10.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Truist Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,528 shares of company stock worth $13,849,185 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.