Diligent Investors LLC Sells 392 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Diligent Investors LLC cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,513 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.0% of Diligent Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Diligent Investors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $98.55 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $59.44 and a one year high of $105.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.62 and a 200 day moving average of $91.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $788.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.89, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.45.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.