FreeGulliver LLC Cuts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

FreeGulliver LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,524 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 737 shares during the quarter. FreeGulliver LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 14.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $336,000. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 7.6% during the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,262 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 503,665 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,669,000 after acquiring an additional 21,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were 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 approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $687.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.93. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

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.