Triangle Securities Wealth Management Sells 73 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Triangle Securities Wealth Management trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,740 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Bellwether Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 112.0% in the third quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Lipe & Dalton bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $29,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 500.0% during the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 282 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. 31.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $139.40 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $142.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.10. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.27 and a 1-year high of $160.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.20. Walmart had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 20.45%. The firm had revenue of $164.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $158.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 53.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $159.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial raised shares of Walmart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Atlantic Securities boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $150.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.44.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 1,077,204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.08, for a total transaction of $148,740,328.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 259,481,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,829,167,548. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 1,077,204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.08, for a total transaction of $148,740,328.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 259,481,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,829,167,548. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.81, for a total transaction of $633,543.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 255,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,935,093.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,830,325 shares of company stock valued at $1,378,798,478 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 47.06% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

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Walmart, Inc engages in retail and wholesale business. The company offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices. It operates through the following business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U.S. segment operates as a merchandiser of consumer products, operating under the Walmart, Wal-Mart, and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands, as well as walmart.com and other eCommerce brands.