5 Dividend Stocks Billionaire D. E. Shaw is Buying

3. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Dividend Yield as of January 11: 1.53%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is an American retail company that operates a chain of department and grocery stores. In Q3 2021, D E Shaw held over 4.4 million shares in the company, worth $618.1 million. The company constituted 0.55% of the hedge fund’s portfolio.

The number of hedge funds having stakes in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) stood at 71, the same as in the previous quarter. These stakes hold a value of roughly $8 billion. Among these hedge funds, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust was one of the company’s most prominent shareholders in Q3, holding shares worth $964.7 million.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has been increasing its dividend since 1974, the year it declared its first annual dividend of $0.05 per share. Currently, the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.53%. Acknowledging the company’s winter sales, recently, MKM Partners lifted its price target on Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) to $166, while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares.

ClearBridge Investments mentioned Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in its Q2 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:

“The pandemic has created challenges for businesses large and small; one major challenge for large essential retailers such as ClearBridge holdings Home Depot, Walmart and Costco has been ensuring adequate staffing to meet demand under trying conditions. All three instituted enhanced pay practices during the pandemic, with raises, unplanned bonuses and other benefits helping compensate employees for their efforts in a difficult environment. In September 2020 Walmart raised wages for 165,000 employees, including a number of entry positions to $15 an hour. It followed this in February with a raise for 425,000 workers that moved its average pay above $15 an hour.”