Ethic Inc. Has $8.60 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 157.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,211 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,206 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.94.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $96.78 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.44 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $774.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 133,857 shares of company stock worth $12,444,743. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.