Metis Global Partners LLC Has $10.55 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 78,345 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,351,000 after purchasing an additional 15,448 shares during the last quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in Walmart by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 252,600 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,398,000 after acquiring an additional 53,000 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,480,971 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $235,608,000 after acquiring an additional 21,899 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 32.5% during the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,117,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $338,602,000 after acquiring an additional 518,896 shares during the period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 48,468 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,751,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.82. 14,207,397 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,769,110. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.34 and a fifty-two week high of $61.65. The company has a market cap of $482.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

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.