Rathbones Group PLC Sells 57,882 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Rathbones Group PLC lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,524,573 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 57,882 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $137,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 173,231 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,988,000 after buying an additional 9,088 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 50,159 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,050,000 after acquiring an additional 2,344 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 74.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.8% in the third quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 56,997 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,603,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 4.8 %

WMT stock opened at $83.09 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $666.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $94.01 and its 200-day moving average is $89.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

About Walmart

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.