TCW Group Inc. Takes $3.73 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

TCW Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 23,668 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,729,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after buying an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,852,277,000 after purchasing an additional 426,388 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $3,674,652,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,698,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,765,278 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,361,411,000 after purchasing an additional 562,256 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $29,195,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 653,067,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,132,597,369.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $29,195,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 653,067,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,132,597,369.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,221,033 shares of company stock valued at $518,194,888. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE WMT traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.38. 11,795,024 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,962,526. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $526.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.34 and a 1-year high of $65.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.47%.

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.