ProVise Management Group LLC Has $1.51 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

ProVise Management Group LLC trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,691 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,966 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of WMT opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $687.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

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.