Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC Decreases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,053 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 2.5% of Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of WMT opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $678.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, 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 transaction 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 $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart 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.