Horan Capital Advisors LLC. Sells 348 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Horan Capital Advisors LLC. decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,333 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 348 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.5% of Horan Capital Advisors LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Horan Capital Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 78,345 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,351,000 after acquiring an additional 15,448 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,461 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,280,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 4,406.9% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 74,680 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,773,000 after purchasing an additional 73,023 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

WMT traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $59.82. 13,538,555 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,602,846. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $48.34 and a one year high of $61.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.95.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total transaction of $781,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 219,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,065,241.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

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.