World Equity Group Inc. Purchases 34,389 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

World Equity Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 98.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,330 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,389 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 1.3% of World Equity Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its position in Walmart by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 34,666 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,763,000 after buying an additional 5,461 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its position in Walmart by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 42,257 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC increased its position in Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 8,369 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 78,648 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,351,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.77 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.57. The firm has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, equities analysts expect 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 issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.43.

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.