Fortitude Family Office LLC Decreases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fortitude Family Office LLC lessened its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 55.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,613 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 4,509 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock worth $697,029,000 after buying an additional 7,860,306 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $94.80. 17,813,539 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,893,103. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.95 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.01. The company has a market cap of $758.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 630,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.