Blume Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Blume Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,649 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. Blume Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its stake in 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 during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the 4th 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 stake in Walmart by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0 %

WMT opened at $84.36 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.56. 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 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $677.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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 company 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 anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.