Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Buys New Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 242,854 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $21,942,000. Walmart comprises approximately 0.6% of Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $87.54 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.88. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $703.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 1.07%. Walmart’s payout ratio 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.