Schroder Investment Management Group Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,426,063 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 591,052 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Walmart were worth $580,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. 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 research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $85.08 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price of $94.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.32. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders 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 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio 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.