Edgar Lomax Co. VA Sells 290,745 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Edgar Lomax Co. VA lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 93.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,050 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 290,745 shares during the quarter. Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $93.17 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $91.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.26. 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 firm has a market cap of $746.93 billion, a PE ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G 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.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,782 shares of company stock worth $16,785,305. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.58.

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.