Summit Global Investments Sells 5,138 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Summit Global Investments reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 65,801 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,138 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Walmart were worth $5,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,860,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $85.94 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. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $688.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, equities analysts predict 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 paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

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.