Bridgewater Associates LP Has $70.43 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 72.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 779,487 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,064,838 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $70,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 2.3 %

WMT opened at $94.91 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $760.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors 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 yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

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.