Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 4,625 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,948 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,625 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 1.5% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after buying an additional 6,860,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $85.08 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.62 and a 200 day moving average of $89.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

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.