Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by WealthShield Partners LLC

WealthShield Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,830 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,534 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire grew its stake in Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank grew its stake in Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $94.70 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.77 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.99%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 34.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. DZ Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.