Prudential Financial Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,773,505 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 714,028 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 0.6% of Prudential Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Walmart worth $431,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Interchange Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,079 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,312 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its position in Walmart by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 47,038 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 86,603 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,825,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $326,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $85.94 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $688.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.12.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors 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 yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.