Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Decreased by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 50.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,564 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 241,254 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $21,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Haven Private LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,657,000. Novus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $710,000. Andra AP fonden lifted its stake in Walmart by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 482,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,585,000 after buying an additional 103,100 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $626,000. Finally, BBR Partners LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 78,931 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,131,000 after buying an additional 11,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $94.59 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.13. The company has a market cap of $759.87 billion, a PE ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

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.