Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 62,035 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 247,933 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 62,035 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $22,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,289,419,000 after purchasing an additional 6,860,189 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1,707.6% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $324,410,000 after buying an additional 3,512,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.67.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $89.77 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $719.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.73.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.