Arkadios Wealth Advisors Sells 30,438 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 15.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,084 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 30,438 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Walmart were worth $15,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independence Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at about $336,000. Brucke Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the first quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 28,616 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,763 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 56,148 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,075,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,752,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.67.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total value of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $421,737,000.84. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,078,027 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $98.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $785.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.04, a PEG ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $96.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.91. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

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.