Fayez Sarofim & Co Grows Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,726,389 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,425 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $155,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.58.

Read Our Latest Report on Walmart

Walmart Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $93.17 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.40. The firm has a market cap of $746.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart 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 owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,782 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,305 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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