State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 4,800 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,178,120 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,800 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 0.6% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Walmart were worth $106,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Trading Down 1.1 %

Walmart stock opened at $97.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $783.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.40 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors 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 0.96%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.