Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Sells 12,696 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 201,637 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 12,696 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Walmart were worth $17,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock worth $697,029,000 after acquiring an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $1.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $94.30. 9,446,854 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,837,010. The company's 50 day moving average price is $95.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.01. The firm has a market cap of $754.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.13, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.90 and a 52 week 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.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given 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 is currently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total value of $166,883.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $62,421,282. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $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.