Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 39.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,125,699 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 602,255 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 0.7% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Walmart were worth $192,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings in Walmart by 73.9% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 29,415 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,658,000 after acquiring an additional 12,496 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,454 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 48,178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,353,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,965,994 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $177,628,000 after purchasing an additional 30,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Next Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 22,853 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $86.36 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.92. 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 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Walmart Company 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.