Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 32,200 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. has reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 13%, holding 215,733 shares valued at approximately $18.99 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Walmart, with Horizon Financial Services LLC growing its position by over 1,000% in the fourth quarter.
• Walmart recently announced a dividend of $0.235 per share, representing a yield of 0.95%, with a payout ratio of 40.17%.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 13.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 215,733 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 32,200 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $18,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Walmart by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock worth $24,532,000 after buying an additional 19,233 shares in the last quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. Leslie Global Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 3,154 shares of the retailer's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Scalar Gauge Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Scalar Gauge Management LLC now owns 69,000 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,234,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Finally, Monument Capital Management lifted its holdings in Walmart by 94.2% in the first quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,829,000 after buying an additional 26,685 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9%

WMT traded up $0.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $97.45. The stock had a trading volume of 12,845,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,524,539. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30. The stock's 50 day moving average is $96.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.81. The company has a market capitalization of $777.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business 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 (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total transaction of $1,887,041.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,431,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,724,989.77. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,744 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $166,726.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 649,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,066,674.80. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 126,696 shares of company stock worth $12,222,245. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given 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 target price of $106.67.

Walmart Company 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.