Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $6 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 66,424 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,447 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Three research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $92.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $744.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.51, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.88.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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