Forte Capital LLC ADV Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Forte Capital LLC ADV lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,967 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 228 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Walmart were worth $468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

Walmart stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,207,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,769,110. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.06 and its 200 day moving average is $55.99. The company has a market cap of $482.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid 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 is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.75.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total value of $347,895,646.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 671,082,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,106,219,344.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631 in the last three months. Corporate 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.