Financial Advisory Partners LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Financial Advisory Partners LLC reduced its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,331 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,456 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.7% of Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in 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 position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 8.9% in 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. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $100.01 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $800.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.50, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.63. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.64 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. 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 company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.235 dividend. 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 presently 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,334 shares of company stock valued at $12,615,864 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.