Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,994 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 4,599 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $2,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after purchasing an additional 514,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $103,252,135. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

Walmart stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $94.36. 14,577,628 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,135,436. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $97.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.51. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $753.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 4.54 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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