Argent Advisors Inc. Has $2.70 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Argent Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,737 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 11,235 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 0.9% of Argent Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Argent Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 9,896.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $697,029,000 after buying an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1,707.6% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer's stock worth $324,410,000 after buying an additional 3,512,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of WMT stock traded down $1.00 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $97.24. 3,455,405 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,008,535. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $96.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.29. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $775.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at $90,619,848.90. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 630,518 shares in the company, valued at $62,421,282. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,511 shares of company stock worth $13,493,751 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.