Candriam S.C.A. Buys 599,257 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 209.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 599,257 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $79,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its stake in Walmart by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $96.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $771.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $96.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.