Arizona State Retirement System Has $116.08 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,284,788 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 16,334 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.7% of Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Walmart were worth $116,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire grew its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,292 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank raised its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $94.74 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.08 and its 200-day moving average is $88.03. The firm has a market cap of $761.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

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.