Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Holdings Raised by Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,788 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,679 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 3.0% of Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $15,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $94.74 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $761.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

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.