Allstate Corp Has $11.87 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3,209.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,380 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 127,410 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,072,000. Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Walmart by 209.7% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $79,960,000 after acquiring an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Walmart by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iowa State Bank lifted its stake in Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $85.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.62 and its 200 day moving average is $89.25. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

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.