Bessemer Group Inc. Has $589.64 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,526,114 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 992,355 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.0% of Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $589,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,289,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,860,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,707.6% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $324,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $81.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $654.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Company 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.