Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Anchor Investment Management LLC

Anchor Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,544 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 6,644 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $7,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % 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 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho started coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Up 2.2 %

Walmart stock traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $93.17. The company had a trading volume of 21,350,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,797,031. The stock has a market cap of $746.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.71 and a 200 day moving average of $90.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

About Walmart

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.