Allstate Corp Buys 127,410 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Allstate Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3,209.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 131,380 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 127,410 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 203,511 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,387,000 after purchasing an additional 9,185 shares during the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 577,301 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $52,159,000 after buying an additional 30,405 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 3,536 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 1,482,017 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $133,900,000 after buying an additional 236,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 9,883 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $85.08 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.25.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

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.