Coerente Capital Management Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Coerente Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,600 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 0.2% of Coerente Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Coerente Capital Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,645,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Walmart Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:WMT opened at $95.70 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.01. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.90 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $765.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.