Corient Private Wealth LLC Trims Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Corient Private Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,274,792 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 227,329 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $202,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in Walmart by 209.7% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after acquiring an additional 599,257 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire raised its position in Walmart by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Finally, Iowa State Bank raised its position in Walmart by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $85.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.