Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,133,201 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 1.8% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,408,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. Maripau Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Maripau Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,027 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Terril Brothers Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Terril Brothers Inc. now owns 7,206 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Bank OZK boosted its holdings in Walmart by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank OZK now owns 29,873 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,699,000 after acquiring an additional 7,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 9,419 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $98.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $792.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.20 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.44.

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. The firm 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 188,777 shares of company stock worth $17,934,726. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.