Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 29.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,214 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 24,711 shares during the quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $697,029,000 after buying an additional 7,860,306 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,421,282. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction 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 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 owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 1.7%

WMT opened at $95.70 on Thursday. 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 $765.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $65.90 and a one year high of $105.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $95.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.01.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS 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 paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

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.