Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Partners LLC

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,482 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 564 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $85.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $688.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $95.19 and a 200-day moving average of $89.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

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.