Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 118,389 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,586,413 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 118,389 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $414,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $85.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.32.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 in the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.