Comerica Bank Trims Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Comerica Bank trimmed its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,536,938 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 94,097 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.6% of Comerica Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Comerica Bank's holdings in Walmart were worth $138,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $96.02 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.58 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $90.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.05. The firm has a market cap of $768.25 billion, a PE ratio of 39.84, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS 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 paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three analysts have 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.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.58.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 169,657 shares of company stock worth $15,984,929. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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