Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 89.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,936 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,300 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 1.1% of Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during 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. Chris Bulman Inc boosted its position in Walmart by 5.3% during the third quarter. Chris Bulman Inc now owns 4,244 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,262 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 139,003 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783 shares during the period. Finally, Spring Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 189.5% during the third quarter. Spring Capital Management LLC now owns 84,476 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,821,000 after buying an additional 55,295 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 6.5 %

Shares of WMT opened at $97.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.25. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $57.60 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $781.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This is a boost from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.87.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Company 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.