NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan Lowers Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,500 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 34,500 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 0.9% of NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its position in Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Down 1.1 %

WMT opened at $97.49 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.40 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $783.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued 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 payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.