Athena Investment Management Has $868,000 Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Athena Investment Management lowered its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,605 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,245 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $98.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.90 and a 200-day moving average of $87.44. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.20 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $792.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.