Easterly Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,068 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 14,738 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $7,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at Walmart
In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.17.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on WMT
Walmart Stock Performance
Shares of Walmart stock traded down $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $85.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,780,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,910,594. The business's fifty day moving average price is $94.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.32. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.
Walmart Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.
Walmart Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Walmart, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Walmart wasn't on the list.
While Walmart currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Just getting into the stock market? These 10 simple stocks can help beginning investors build long-term wealth without knowing options, technicals, or other advanced strategies.
Get This Free Report
