TCW Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,475 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $94.70 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.77 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.71. The company has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 34.44%.

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.