Wintrust Investments LLC Lowers Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wintrust Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 55.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,723 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,104 shares during the period. Wintrust Investments LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.5% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 52,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,256,000 after buying an additional 3,196 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,966,753 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $239,565,000 after buying an additional 52,897 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $85.07 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week 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. The stock has a market cap of $683.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.59.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

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.