Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by SouthState Corp

SouthState Corp lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 260,503 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,938 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.5% of SouthState Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $23,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

WMT stock opened at $85.29 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $685.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% 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.