Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 106,972 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,487 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 37.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $83.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap 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 twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. 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 of $94.01 and a 200-day moving average of $89.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.