Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Sells 4,487 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,381 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 4,487 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $5,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring 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 worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $96.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $767.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $96.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.55 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 135,294 shares of company stock worth $12,656,659. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.

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