Leelyn Smith LLC Cuts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Leelyn Smith LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,505 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,081 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $3,637,000. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $770,000. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,672 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,072,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 274,246 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,799 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $87.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.88. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. 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 company has a market cap of $703.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.