Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $189.11 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 45.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,103,734 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,719,220 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Walmart were worth $189,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $87.54 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $703.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.32, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm 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 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.