Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Purchases 73,023 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4,406.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,680 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,023 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.3% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart by 21.7% in the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 3,426 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in Walmart by 5.8% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 52,162 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,342,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $4,106,000. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in Walmart by 2.3% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 102,963 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,467,000 after buying an additional 2,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 3.2% during the third quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 3,184 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $59.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,997,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,572,016. 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 capitalization of $482.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.34 and a twelve month high of $61.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.92.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,187,943.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $638,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,086,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 three months, insiders sold 29,016,140 shares of company stock worth $1,695,868,391. 46.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

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.