Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 1,600,902 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 74.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 551,768 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,600,902 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Walmart were worth $49,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. American Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $381,000. Allianz SE bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,879,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 1,272 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 560,069 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,602,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 176,652 shares of company stock valued at $16,590,028. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $88.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $711.10 billion, a PE ratio of 36.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have 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.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart 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.