Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys 163,500 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 32.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 660,500 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 163,500 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 0.5% of Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $59,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $83.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $666.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.52.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.