Signature Wealth Management Group Sells 196 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Signature Wealth Management Group decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,609 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 196 shares during the period. Signature Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Walmart were worth $844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,532,000 after acquiring an additional 19,233 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 209.7% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after acquiring an additional 599,257 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $1,124,000. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $4,658,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 0.2%

WMT opened at $94.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $752.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $96.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.11. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.41 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

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.