The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,080,364 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 488,819 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.8% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.13% of Walmart worth $910,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,533 shares of company stock worth $13,241,740 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $95.02 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $761.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $90.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.58 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

Walmart Company 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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