Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Sells 170 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 380 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $678.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14, a PEG 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 quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.25.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Walmart Company 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.