McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. Has $1.29 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,707 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,254 shares during the quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing 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 Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,421,282. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, 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 have sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Walmart Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of WMT stock 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.31 and its 200-day moving average is $94.01. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.90 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company 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%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend 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.