Arkadios Wealth Advisors Cuts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Arkadios Wealth Advisors reduced its Walmart holdings by 15%, selling 30,438 shares and retaining 173,084 shares valued at approximately $15.2 million as of the latest quarter.
• Walmart reported a net margin of 2.75% and beat earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, revealing $165.61 billion in revenue.
• The stock has received primarily positive ratings from analysts, with 30 buy ratings and an average price target of $106.67, indicating continued confidence in its performance.

Arkadios Wealth Advisors trimmed its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 15.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 173,084 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 30,438 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors' holdings in Walmart were worth $15,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Walmart by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock worth $24,532,000 after purchasing an additional 19,233 shares in the last quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 3,154 shares of the retailer's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Monument Capital Management raised its position in shares of Walmart by 94.2% during the first quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,829,000 after acquiring an additional 26,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 156.7% during the first quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 54,659 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,799,000 after acquiring an additional 33,370 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $97.59. 13,844,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,240,789. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $96.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.93. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The company's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued 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 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,744 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $166,726.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 649,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,066,674.80. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $380,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,056,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $100,511,128.70. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,078,027 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.