Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Lessened by S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,183 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 753 shares during the quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,334 shares of company stock valued at $12,615,864 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.94.

Walmart Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WMT opened at $97.04 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $93.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $776.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.16 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

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.