Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Trimmed by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,097 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 335 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $94.80 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.95 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.