Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 8,312 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 314,392 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,312 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Walmart were worth $49,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kepos Capital LP bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $40,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $41,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Europe upped their price target on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $59.32 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $478.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $61.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,035,551. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

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.