LM Advisors LLC Sells 10,545 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

LM Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 34,020 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,545 shares during the quarter. LM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 6,388 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $906,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 232,999 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,051,000 after purchasing an additional 56,002 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Walmart by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 963,184 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $87,024,000 after purchasing an additional 56,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $849,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $85.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $682.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $94.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.22. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

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.