Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 12,393 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,762 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 12,393 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.77, for a total value of $166,795.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 650,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,693,090.29. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9%

WMT opened at $99.27 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $97.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $792.22 billion, a PE ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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. 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.