GQG Partners LLC Decreases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

GQG Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,890,765 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,399,402 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.6% of GQG Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. GQG Partners LLC owned about 0.15% of Walmart worth $1,074,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,199 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,897,000 after buying an additional 14,586 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,368,000. Grantvest Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $249,000. Haverford Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 81,761 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 4,773,505 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,286,000 after purchasing an additional 714,028 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $87.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $701.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.12 and a 200 day moving average of $89.19.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler lifted 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. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

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.