Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,658 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,707 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $4,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $99.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $792.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 630,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,421,282. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.

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