Blair William & Co. IL Trims Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,506,613 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 42,352 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Walmart were worth $226,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $85.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,780,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,910,594. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two 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.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.