State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Sells 138,107 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,541,964 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 138,107 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Walmart were worth $139,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,782 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,305 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $93.17 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $746.93 billion, a PE ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.