Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Cuts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,540 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,187 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 0.9% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Walmart were worth $1,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Walmart Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.77 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 34.44%.

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.