iA Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases 37,850 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 486,512 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 37,850 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 0.8% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $43,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $336,000. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 57.2% in the third quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 5,007 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 845.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 518,984 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $41,908,000 after acquiring an additional 464,118 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $86.36 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $693.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a PEG 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. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

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.