New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $52.60 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 582,171 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,997 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $52,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $96.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $772.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.88, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $95.70 and its 200 day moving average is $87.17. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.20 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,528 shares of company stock worth $13,849,185 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.