Sylvest Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sylvest Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,033 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 279 shares during the quarter. Sylvest Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.19, for a total value of $2,743,189.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,480,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,003,883.93. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 123,295 shares of company stock worth $11,801,762. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $97.24 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $776.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.67 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $96.65 and its 200-day moving average is $94.20.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

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.