CCM Investment Advisers LLC cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,835 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,803 shares during the period. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 10,401 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Financial Planning Group LLC now owns 872 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the first quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 4,142 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 1,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Walmart by 0.3% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 27,946 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,795,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 29.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Walmart from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup Inc. 3% Minimum Coupon Principal Protected Based Upon Russell upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $172.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Walmart from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 20th. Finally, FIX cut Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $157.00 to $131.00 in a report on Monday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.72.
Walmart stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $141.75. 7,642,485 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,906,906. The firm has a market cap of $398.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.82. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $117.01 and a 12-month high of $153.66.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.48. Walmart had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The business had revenue of $138.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 10th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 9th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.62%.
Walmart declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,549,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.27, for a total transaction of $220,488,338.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,748,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $960,120,476.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 710,440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.64, for a total transaction of $92,811,881.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,748,580 shares in the company, valued at $2,841,234,491.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,670,460 shares of company stock worth $642,613,029 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 50.43% of the company’s stock.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.
Read More: How does the Beige Book influence monetary policy?