Metis Global Partners LLC Has $19.17 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,210 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,117 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 0.6% of Metis Global Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $19,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $98.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $792.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.90 and its 200 day moving average is $87.44. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.20 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

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.