Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. Has $1.23 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 53.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,514 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15,739 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.9% of Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 630,518 shares in the company, valued at $62,421,282. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Walmart Trading Down 0.2%

WMT opened at $94.28 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.41 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.04 and a 200-day moving average of $94.11. The stock has a market cap of $752.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.