Wambolt & Associates LLC Decreases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wambolt & Associates LLC trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,116 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11,546 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.5% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $87.56 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.19. 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 firm has a market cap of $701.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.