Royal Fund Management LLC Sells 951 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Royal Fund Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,678 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 951 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Seven Mile Advisory increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.82. 14,207,397 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,769,110. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.