Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,523,758 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 180,728 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.39% of Walmart worth $1,647,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Seven Mile Advisory increased its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer's stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer's stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC raised its position in Walmart by 4.1% during the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.32 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.30. The stock had a trading volume of 10,889,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,387,223. The stock has a market capitalization of $485.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65. The business's 50-day moving average price is $60.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.12.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Walmart's payout ratio is 43.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.94.

Walmart Company 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.