Estabrook Capital Management Trims Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Estabrook Capital Management decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,113 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 971 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 1.1% of Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $9,965,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 713,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $57,644,000 after purchasing an additional 11,022 shares during the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $2,072,000. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 26,801 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, KeyCorp upped 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $81.59 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $93.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.67. The stock has a market cap of $654.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.