Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,886 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,161 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $10,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Stifel Europe increased their price target on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $59.82. The stock had a trading volume of 14,207,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,769,110. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $60.06 and its 200-day moving average is $56.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $61.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 43.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.