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

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,292 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $97.49 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.40 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.