Rockland Trust Co. Sells 6,601 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Rockland Trust Co. trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 108,845 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,601 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $94.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $758.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.34, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.54 and a 200-day moving average of $94.04. 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 1-year low of $65.95 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

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.