Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Cut by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp trimmed its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,418 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 866 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT traded down $0.13 on Thursday, reaching $65.12. 6,447,117 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,666,467. The firm has a market cap of $524.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.34 and a 12 month high of $65.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.71.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.01.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $29,195,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 653,067,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,132,597,369.79. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $29,195,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 653,067,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,132,597,369.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,733,075 shares of company stock worth $1,237,280,394 over the last three months. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

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.