Boston Partners Sells 6,642,542 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Boston Partners trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 98.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,842 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,642,542 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Walmart were worth $7,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18,644 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $336,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 118,663 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 387,540 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,294,000 after acquiring an additional 4,128 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $85.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $688.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.95.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

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.