Jacobi Capital Management LLC Sells 1,519 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Jacobi Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,049 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,519 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 0.8% of Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $98.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.44. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.20 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $792.52 billion, a PE ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 188,777 shares of company stock worth $17,934,726. 45.58% of the stock is owned by 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.