Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 171.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,720 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,204 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $687.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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. 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%. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.