Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Sells 155,986 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 51.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 145,798 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 155,986 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Symmetry Partners LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 18,337 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,657,000 after buying an additional 3,030 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $413,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 486,512 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,956,000 after acquiring an additional 37,850 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $642,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Walmart by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,125,699 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $192,057,000 after purchasing an additional 602,255 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $86.36 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.92. The firm has a market cap of $693.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.