Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Holdings Trimmed by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 902,012 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 31,500 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 1.2% of Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $81,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.17.

Remove Ads

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.90. The company had a trading volume of 8,123,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,130,941. The stock has a market cap of $680.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $94.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.20. 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 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.