Easterly Investment Partners LLC Sells 14,738 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 83,068 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14,738 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $12,949,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 6,388 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $906,000. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 232,999 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,051,000 after acquiring an additional 56,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $85.13 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week 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 50 day moving average price of $94.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $682.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.32, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business 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 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 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Walmart 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.