Forum Financial Management LP Purchases 2,897 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,100 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,897 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Walmart were worth $6,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whelan Financial grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 177,583 shares of company stock worth $16,701,404. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.94.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

WMT stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.46. The stock had a trading volume of 5,228,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,809,103. The firm has a market cap of $779.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.16 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.15.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Walmart's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

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.