Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,901 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $84.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $677.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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 during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

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.