Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Trims Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,321 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 7,810 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA's holdings in Walmart were worth $7,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 209.7% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares during the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,124,000. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,658,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total value of $166,883.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value 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 trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,688,803 in the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $97.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $777.37 billion, a PE ratio of 41.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.67 and a 1 year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

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.

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