Cibc World Markets Corp Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,810,631 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 545,383 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 1.0% of Cibc World Markets Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $163,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $231,000. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 1.8% in the third quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC now owns 177,552 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,337,000 after purchasing an additional 3,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 8.6% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 15,518 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9 %

WMT stock opened at $85.29 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 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 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Walmart 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.