FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Purchases 2,034 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,178 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the period. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $96.11 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.20 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.70 and a 200-day moving average of $87.17. The company has a market capitalization of $772.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its 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 company 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.