RiverFront Investment Group LLC Has $23.13 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 129.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,730 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 82,744 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $23,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 252,600 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,398,000 after acquiring an additional 53,000 shares in the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.0% during the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 767,013 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $122,668,000 after purchasing an additional 167,800 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,480,971 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $235,608,000 after buying an additional 21,899 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,117,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $338,602,000 after buying an additional 518,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 48,468 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,751,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total value of $347,895,646.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 671,082,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,106,219,344.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 671,082,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,106,219,344.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $241,239,559.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $60.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.86. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $61.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 43.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Europe boosted their target price on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

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.