Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,767 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $97.62 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $97.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.31. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $779.05 billion, a PE ratio of 41.72, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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 business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 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.