Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 725,508 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,582 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $63,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:WMT traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $96.22. 19,330,541 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,952,013. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.65 and a 200 day moving average of $94.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $767.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.19, for a total transaction of $2,743,189.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,480,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $422,003,883.93. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,421,282. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 123,295 shares of company stock valued at $11,801,762 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.50.

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.