Western Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Western Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 69.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,257 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 53,492 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $252,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 8,967 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 26,297 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 13,541 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 30,061 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total value of $214,214.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 632,718 shares in the company, valued at $61,607,751.66. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,435 shares of company stock worth $13,886,290 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $95.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $767.69 billion, a PE ratio of 39.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.82. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.16 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.94.

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.