Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Has $8.47 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,790 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 25,964 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.7% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $85.08. The company had a trading volume of 14,780,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,910,594. The company's 50-day moving average is $94.62 and its 200-day moving average is $89.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

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.