Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 8,312 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 314,392 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,312 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Walmart were worth $49,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $25,000. Kepos Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $40,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $41,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $59.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $59.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.90. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.34 and a 1 year high of $61.65. The company has a market cap of $478.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,565,756.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,565,756.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

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.