Meeder Asset Management Inc. Buys 134,149 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 78.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 306,053 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 134,149 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.9% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $27,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,652 shares of company stock worth $16,590,028 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $89.14. The company had a trading volume of 18,107,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,002,756. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $714.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.99, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is 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.