Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Lowered by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 678,898 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11,641 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 0.9% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Walmart were worth $61,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 194,377 shares of company stock worth $18,231,904. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $93.64 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.18 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $752.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.85, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.89.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 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.