Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Reduces Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,157 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,508 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.38. The company had a trading volume of 11,795,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,962,526. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $60.73 and a 200 day moving average of $56.85. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.34 and a fifty-two week high of $65.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.01.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $29,195,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 653,067,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,132,597,369.79. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $29,195,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 653,067,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,132,597,369.79. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 1,570,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.74, for a total value of $92,221,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 654,825,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,464,435,831.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,221,033 shares of company stock worth $518,194,888. 46.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.