LSV Asset Management Lowers Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 30.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 141,740 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 61,160 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $22,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 4.1% in the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $59.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $482.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.34 and a 12-month high of $61.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.06.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.