Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 25,370,566 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,182,096 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.6% of Legal & General Group Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,292,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,796,129,000 after purchasing an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 4.8 %

Walmart stock opened at $83.09 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.67. The company has a market capitalization of $666.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week 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 issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart 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.