State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 143,769 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. by 8.8%, selling 143,769 shares, which brings its total to approximately 1.5 million shares valued at $131.36 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Walmart, including Monument Capital Management with a 94.2% increase and Milestone Asset Management with a 156.7% increase during the first quarter.
• Walmart's stock has an average rating of Buy from analysts, with a current average target price of approximately $107.47, following various price objective adjustments from firms like JPMorgan and Truist Financial.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,496,345 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 143,769 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 0.6% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Walmart were worth $131,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Full Sail Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Leslie Global Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 3,154 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management lifted its holdings in Walmart by 94.2% in the first quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,829,000 after buying an additional 26,685 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 11.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,959,752 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $698,787,000 after buying an additional 838,689 shares during the period. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 156.7% in the first quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 54,659 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,799,000 after buying an additional 33,370 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $107.47.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $1,248,712.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 932,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,700,258.82. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares in the company, valued at $421,737,000.84. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,334 shares of company stock worth $13,913,350 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1%

Walmart stock opened at $100.91 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.52 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $97.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.58. The company has a market capitalization of $805.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. Walmart's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

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.

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