Barings LLC Buys 347 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Barings LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,471 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Barings LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $91.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

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.