Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Invests $5.36 Million in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 59,300 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,358,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $91.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $736.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $96.19 and its 200 day moving average is $88.26. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

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.