Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,891,723 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 77,211 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 0.6% of Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Walmart were worth $166,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.50.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Walmart
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 135,294 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,659. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Walmart Price Performance
Shares of WMT stock opened at $95.10 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $96.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.13. The firm has a market cap of $758.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.55 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Walmart Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's payout ratio is 40.17%.
About Walmart
(
Free Report)
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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