Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Alerus Financial NA

Alerus Financial NA lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,750 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,766 shares during the quarter. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $270,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Walmart by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 561,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $45,301,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the period. BBR Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 38.2% in the third quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 67,398 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,442,000 after acquiring an additional 18,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,900,850 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $153,494,000 after acquiring an additional 82,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $85.62 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $94.76 and a 200 day moving average of $89.20. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $686.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.53, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on WMT shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

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.