Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 807,690 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 53,228 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $72,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $1.71 on Wednesday, reaching $85.73. The company had a trading volume of 9,459,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,768,452. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $96.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.61. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $688.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.20.

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.