Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 274 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,605 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Whelan Financial increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.16.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $97.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $65.64 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.84.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.