Leavell Investment Management Inc. Sells 3,732 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 194,957 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,732 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.8% of Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $17,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. World Investment Advisors raised its position in Walmart by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $24,532,000 after buying an additional 19,233 shares during the period. GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,658,000. Full Sail Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Leslie Global Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 3,154 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Finally, Scalar Gauge Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Scalar Gauge Management LLC now owns 69,000 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,234,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $1,887,041.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,431,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,724,989.77. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $1.89 on Thursday, hitting $94.92. 18,834,936 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,115,602. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $757.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

Walmart 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.