Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,524,573 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 57,882 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $137,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 75,170 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,792,000 after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 28,365,122 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,562,789,000 after buying an additional 368,711 shares in the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Walmart by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 9,570 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $865,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,767,365 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $157,750,000 after purchasing an additional 33,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD lifted its stake in Walmart by 355.0% in the fourth quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD now owns 44,364 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,008,000 after buying an additional 34,614 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $83.09 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.67. The stock has a market cap of $666.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.