Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 1,422 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,423 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,422 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 1.1% of Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Walmart by 14.0% during 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. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $85.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $687.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.59, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.34 and a 200 day moving average of $88.89.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

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.