Norges Bank Acquires New Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 63,501,444 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Walmart comprises about 0.8% of Norges Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.79% of Walmart as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $12,949,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 6,388 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $906,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 232,999 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,051,000 after purchasing an additional 56,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 963,184 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $87,024,000 after buying an additional 56,763 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $85.13 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.22. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $682.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart 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.