Townsend & Associates Inc Cuts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Townsend & Associates Inc decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 30.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,705 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 71,474 shares during the quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc's holdings in Walmart were worth $14,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Walmart by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock worth $24,532,000 after purchasing an additional 19,233 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 209.7% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer's stock worth $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $1,124,000. GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $4,658,000. Finally, Full Sail Capital LLC raised its position in Walmart by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total transaction of $380,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,060,455 shares in the company, valued at $100,997,734.20. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,511 shares of company stock valued at $13,493,751 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

Walmart Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of WMT traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.24. The stock had a trading volume of 3,455,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,008,671. 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's fifty day moving average is $96.97 and its 200 day moving average is $94.29. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.67 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $775.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.68.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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