WR Wealth Planners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

WR Wealth Planners LLC reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,288 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,308 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.9% of WR Wealth Planners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. WR Wealth Planners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 19,299 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $367,000. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,493 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $86,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $98.65 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.20 and a one year high of $105.30. 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 has a market cap of $792.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.44.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.