Hardin Capital Partners LLC Sells 1,177 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hardin Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,519 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,177 shares during the quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.25. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $678.95 billion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.