Xponance Inc. Purchases 34,931 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Xponance Inc. grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 689,995 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,931 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.6% of Xponance Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $62,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 2.6 %

WMT opened at $87.54 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $703.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.88.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

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.