Nebula Research & Development LLC Decreases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Nebula Research & Development LLC cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,252 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,162 shares during the quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $95.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $768.74 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.66. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.58 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 140,533 shares of company stock worth $13,241,740. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.