Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Trimmed by Renaissance Group LLC

Renaissance Group LLC reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,440 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 523 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Walmart by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,860,189 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $81.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.10 and a 200-day moving average of $89.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $654.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.