Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Trims Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 44.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 911 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 715 shares during the quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Whelan Financial boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.16.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $97.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $94.71 and its 200-day moving average is $93.88. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.90 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $779.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.44, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Walmart 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.