Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 47.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,783 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 23,399 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Walmart were worth $4,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,461 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,280,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its stake in Walmart by 4,406.9% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 74,680 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,773,000 after acquiring an additional 73,023 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 110.0% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 432,603 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $68,200,000 after purchasing an additional 226,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 950,119 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $149,786,000 after purchasing an additional 6,610 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $638,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 104,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,016,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,868,391 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.90 during trading on Thursday, hitting $59.75. 11,966,129 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,580,549. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.34 and a twelve month high of $61.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $481.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.92.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.38%.

Walmart 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.