Family Firm Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Family Firm Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,214 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 504 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $85.29 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 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 for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

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.