Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 418,189 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,792 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Walmart were worth $37,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Walmart by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after purchasing an additional 6,860,189 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,707.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $324,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $93.17 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.33. 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 $746.93 billion, a PE ratio of 38.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

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 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. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,782 shares of company stock worth $16,785,305 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.58.

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.