MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,455 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,689 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,455 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total value of $214,214.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,718 shares in the company, valued at $61,607,751.66. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 134,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,445,082. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.16 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $91.72 and its 200-day moving average is $92.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $782.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.59, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

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.