Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Advisors LLC ADV

Sterling Investment Advisors LLC ADV lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,463 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 867 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 0.4% of Sterling Investment Advisors LLC ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Sterling Investment Advisors LLC ADV’s holdings in Walmart were worth $743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.19, for a total transaction of $2,743,189.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,480,347 shares in the company, valued at $422,003,883.93. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,688,803. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $97.41 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.23. The company has a market capitalization of $777.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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