GQG Partners LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

GQG Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,890,765 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,399,402 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 1.6% of GQG Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. GQG Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,074,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $336,000. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,681 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Davis R M Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.7% in the third quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 12,548 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $87.56 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.12 and a 200 day moving average of $89.19. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $701.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.