Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 1,796 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,588 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,796 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth 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. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its position in Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial increased 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. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $98.65 on Friday. The company 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.58. 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 fifty-two week low of $58.20 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

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.