Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Reduced by DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP

DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,779 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 27,713 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 2.5% of DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP's holdings in Walmart were worth $9,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $994,000. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,038,000. Cypress Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $813,000. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 78,430 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 48,592 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,390,000 after acquiring an additional 2,030 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.19, for a total value of $2,743,189.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,480,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,003,883.93. This represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 169,657 shares of company stock valued at $15,984,929 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.73. 16,026,369 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,851,074. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.39 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $789.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.97, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.