Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $73.44 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 465,823 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 144,078 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Walmart were worth $73,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 11,806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 261.7% during the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 21,508 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,452,000 after buying an additional 15,562 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Walmart by 4.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 344,910 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,161,000 after buying an additional 13,885 shares during the last quarter. MWA Asset Management acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $992,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Walmart by 2.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 43,430 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,946,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $60.48. The stock had a trading volume of 12,356,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,164,416. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.22. The firm has a market cap of $487.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $638,750.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 104,346 shares in the company, valued at $6,086,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,086,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Europe increased their price target on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.94.

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.