Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Exchange Capital Management Inc.

Exchange Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,829 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 573 shares during the period. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire raised its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank raised its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $95.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.10. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.18 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 stock has a market capitalization of $785.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

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.