Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 3,893 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 346,067 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,893 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 0.8% of Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $31,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $96.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.20 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $772.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.88, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.17.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

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.