First Merchants Corp Decreases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First Merchants Corp cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 177,274 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 24,868 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp's holdings in Walmart were worth $15,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,283,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,194 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of WMT opened at $96.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $767.85 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.69. The company's fifty day moving average is $96.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.22. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $374,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,096,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $102,518,542.50. This represents a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 123,295 shares of company stock worth $11,801,762. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.50.

Walmart Company 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.

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