Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 48,145 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 820,405 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,145 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 1.4% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $74,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $87.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.88. The company has a market cap of $703.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio 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 shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

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.