California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 228,797 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,985,257 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 228,797 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 0.7% of California State Teachers Retirement System's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Walmart worth $631,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $97.44. 13,150,271 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,833,139. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $90.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.10. The firm has a market cap of $779.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Walmart in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 169,657 shares of company stock worth $15,984,929 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company 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.