United Services Automobile Association Reduces Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

United Services Automobile Association decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 34.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 264,687 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 139,411 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Association's holdings in Walmart were worth $23,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer's stock worth $431,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $336,000. WESPAC Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 13,361 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 5,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 26.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38,525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,111,000 after buying an additional 8,077 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $85.62. The company had a trading volume of 16,763,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,064,120. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.20. The company has a market cap of $686.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.53, a PEG 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.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.