Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Balentine LLC

Balentine LLC reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,967 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 645 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. STAR Financial Bank grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 4,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. St. Louis Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. St. Louis Trust Co now owns 18,411 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 3,411 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 67,258 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,905,000 after buying an additional 2,671 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 753,887 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $66,184,000 after buying an additional 4,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nwam LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 22,482 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after buying an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Mizuho boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a 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 report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,695 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,162 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $95.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $758.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $96.81 and a 200-day moving average of $94.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.