Synovus Financial Corp Sells 69,968 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Synovus Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 256,577 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 69,968 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $23,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Envision Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $213,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,972,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 193,329 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,467,000 after buying an additional 11,862 shares during the period. Finally, Crux Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,562,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. KeyCorp boosted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $92.81 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $744.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.88. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

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.