594 Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Purchased by Vega Investment Solutions

Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 594 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $54,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,435 shares of company stock worth $13,886,290 in the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of WMT opened at $95.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $767.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.81, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $92.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.82. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.16 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WMT. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.94.

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.