Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 228,559 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14,922 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $20,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Walmart by 13.7% during 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 last quarter. Iowa State Bank raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $96.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $95.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.23. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.20 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $778.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 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.