Mariner LLC Buys 148,488 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,728,779 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 148,488 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $336,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Walmart by 7.6% in 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. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 209.7% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after acquiring an additional 599,257 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its stake in Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Finally, Iowa State Bank increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.58.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $92.81 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $92.43 and its 200 day moving average is $89.95. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $744.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080. Corporate 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.