Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Reduced by Dodge & Cox

Dodge & Cox reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 183,310 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 13,800 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox’s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $541,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $504,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $94.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.06. The stock has a market cap of $760.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

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.