Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,491 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,048 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $19,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 15,371.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,511,225 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $553,545,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488,530 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 46.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,491,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $718,271,000 after buying an additional 1,416,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,698,519,000 after buying an additional 1,317,729 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after buying an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 161.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,157,620 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $182,499,000 after buying an additional 715,125 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $59.32 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $61.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,565,756.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at $29,565,756.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 46.51% 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.