Blair William & Co. IL Decreases Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Blair William & Co. IL lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,506,613 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 42,352 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Walmart were worth $226,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $85.13 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $682.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.