Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,804 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,994 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Seven Mile Advisory boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the third quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.1% in the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Europe upped their price objective on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of WMT stock traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $59.19. 2,245,815 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,557,334. The business’s fifty day moving average is $59.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $477.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.34 and a 12-month high of $61.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total transaction of $21,020,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total transaction of $21,020,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,035,551 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

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.