Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,696 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,962 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hobart Private Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC now owns 6,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 6.5 %

WMT opened at $97.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.25. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.60 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $781.02 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend 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 34.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned 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.