Smart Money Group LLC Trims Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Smart Money Group LLC trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 43.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,972 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,252 shares during the quarter. Smart Money Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 252,600 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,398,000 after buying an additional 53,000 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.0% during the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 767,013 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $122,668,000 after buying an additional 167,800 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,480,971 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $235,608,000 after acquiring an additional 21,899 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 32.5% during the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,117,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $338,602,000 after buying an additional 518,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 48,468 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,751,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $59.71. The company had a trading volume of 15,745,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,633,684. The company has a market capitalization of $481.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $61.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,729,056,822.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 645,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,253,888.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total transaction of $21,020,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,729,056,822.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,016,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,868,391. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

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.