Souders Financial Advisors Sells 11,463 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Souders Financial Advisors trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 66.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,756 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11,463 shares during the quarter. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in Walmart were worth $520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $96.00 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.09. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $771.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

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.