Schroder Investment Management Group Buys 591,052 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,426,063 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 591,052 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.08% of Walmart worth $580,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6 %

WMT opened at $85.08 on Friday. 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 market cap of $682.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.32.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

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.