164,290 Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Bought by Allianz SE

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 164,290 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $14,879,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WMT opened at $85.08 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.25. 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 $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

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.