Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,991 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Europe lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.94.

Walmart Trading Down 0.0 %

WMT stock opened at $60.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.12. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65. The company has a market cap of $484.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.52, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. 46.51% of the stock is 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.