Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Has $4.37 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,345 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,663 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 1.1% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Down 1.2 %

WMT stock opened at $93.64 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $752.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.18 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $95.60 and a 200-day moving average of $86.89.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 194,377 shares of company stock worth $18,231,904. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.