Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Has $57.06 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 107.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 631,589 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 327,188 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $57,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its position in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE WMT opened at $85.07 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $95.96 and its 200-day moving average is $88.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $683.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. Company 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.