Victory Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,268,398 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 280,384 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $204,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large 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 stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of WMT traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $96.00. The company had a trading volume of 17,621,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,545,287. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $771.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

About Walmart

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.