Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 99,132 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,994,518 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 99,132 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.6% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Walmart were worth $180,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,435 shares of company stock valued at $13,886,290 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:WMT opened at $95.95 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.16 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $767.69 billion, a PE ratio of 39.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.82.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.