Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Sells 12,696 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 201,637 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,696 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $17,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,905 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,835,000 after acquiring an additional 6,026 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,269,000. Gibson Capital LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 7,805 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 171,784 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,081,000 after acquiring an additional 11,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $97.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $95.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.99. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $65.90 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $778.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.68.

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.