Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,616 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Walmart by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $99.39 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.67. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.64 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $795.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 630,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.16.

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.