Easterly Investment Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 28.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 59,098 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 23,970 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares in 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 acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth 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. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $95.11 on Thursday. 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 $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.56. The company has a market cap of $759.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $1,887,041.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,431,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,724,989.77. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were 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 owned 945,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,951 shares of company stock worth $13,543,436 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

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.