Claris Advisors LLC MO Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Claris Advisors LLC MO increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,465 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Claris Advisors LLC MO’s holdings in Walmart were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $87.57 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $703.46 billion, a PE ratio of 36.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. 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 the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

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.