FDx Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

FDx Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,389 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 761 shares during the quarter. FDx Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank increased its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $1,207,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 579,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,352,180. This trade represents a 2.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 6.5 %

WMT opened at $97.22 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $57.60 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $781.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.25.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.87.

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.