Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Boosts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 28.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 418,189 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 91,792 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Walmart were worth $37,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,533 shares of company stock worth $13,241,740 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE WMT traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $95.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,573,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,799,762. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $90.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.54. The company has a market capitalization of $768.42 billion, a PE ratio of 39.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.58 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio 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.