Employees Retirement System of Texas Sells 46,667 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Employees Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,423,689 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 46,667 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 0.6% of Employees Retirement System of Texas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Walmart were worth $128,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Down 4.8 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $83.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.67. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $666.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given 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 1.13%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart 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.