Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,194 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 670 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial lifted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $86.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.92. The company has a market capitalization of $693.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.84, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. 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 1.09%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.