South Dakota Investment Council Has $15.71 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,927 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 50,581 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Walmart were worth $15,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.77 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.57.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.44%.

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.