Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lessened its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,198 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Walmart by 9,896.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $697,029,000 after acquiring an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,294 shares of company stock worth $12,656,659 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $96.16 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $96.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.14. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.55 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $767.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.10, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. 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.