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

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total transaction of $214,214.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,607,751.66. This represents a 0.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $96.78 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.44 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $774.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

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.