Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Sells 624 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,025 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank lifted its position in Walmart by 213.8% in 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 boosted its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 188,777 shares of company stock worth $17,934,726. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $98.65 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.90 and its 200-day moving average is $87.44. The firm has a market cap of $792.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.20 and a 1-year high of $105.30. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

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.