Arkos Global Advisors Decreases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Arkos Global Advisors lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,132 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 447 shares during the quarter. Arkos Global Advisors’ holdings in Walmart were worth $1,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $541,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in Walmart by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $504,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,533 shares of company stock worth $13,241,740 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of WMT opened at $95.02 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.58 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $761.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

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.