AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,175 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 627 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 1.5% of AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake 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 period. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 146,528 shares of company stock worth $13,849,185. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $96.88 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.23. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.20 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $778.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.