Nwam LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Nwam LLC decreased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,657 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,051 shares during the period. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,528 shares of company stock worth $13,849,185. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $96.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $95.77 and its 200 day moving average is $87.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.20 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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 0.97%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

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.