Saratoga Research & Investment Management Sells 21,025 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 468,318 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 21,025 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 2.1% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings in Walmart were worth $42,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $270,000. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $538,000. Circle Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,748 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,792 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,652 shares of company stock worth $16,590,028 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0 %

WMT traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $88.70. 22,070,021 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,984,102. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $711.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.81, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $94.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.46. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. 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.