FourThought Financial Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC reduced its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,155 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 818 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 4.1% in the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.82. 14,207,397 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,769,110. The firm has a market cap of $482.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $61.65. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Europe raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

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.