Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 348,343 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,887 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.2% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $31,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.17.

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Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $87.56 on Tuesday. 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 $701.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.12 and a 200-day moving average of $89.19.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued 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 1.07%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.

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