Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Greenwood Capital Associates LLC

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 29.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,214 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 24,711 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Walmart by 9,896.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $697,029,000 after acquiring an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 8.9% during 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 last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE:WMT opened at $95.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $765.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $65.90 and a one year high of $105.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.01.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

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.