WNY Asset Management LLC Has $1.02 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

WNY Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,237 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,434 shares during the quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $93,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $786,000. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Walmart by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 75,100 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,897 shares during the period. Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $285,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $1,309,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’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 value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $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 quarter, insiders have sold 177,583 shares of company stock worth $16,701,404. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:WMT opened at $96.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $772.00 billion, a PE ratio of 40.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.16 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 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.