Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Capital Investment Counsel Inc

Capital Investment Counsel Inc cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 301,423 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 27,894 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 4.1% of Capital Investment Counsel Inc's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Capital Investment Counsel Inc's holdings in Walmart were worth $27,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $2.51 on Friday, reaching $94.70. The company had a trading volume of 34,962,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,919,441. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.77 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $95.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.25. The firm has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 34.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.43.

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.