Mizuho Bank Ltd. Makes New $41,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 450 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Walmart by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,532,000 after purchasing an additional 19,233 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in Walmart by 209.7% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after purchasing an additional 599,257 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire grew its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $83.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $94.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.52. The stock has a market cap of $666.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMT. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.