Convergence Investment Partners LLC Has $2.78 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,645 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,393 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.5% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 15,371.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,511,225 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $553,545,000 after buying an additional 3,488,530 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 46.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,491,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $718,271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,698,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,729 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after acquiring an additional 751,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 161.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,157,620 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $182,499,000 after purchasing an additional 715,125 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at $29,565,756.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551 in the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $60.24 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $59.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $485.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $48.34 and a one year high of $61.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

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.