Keynote Financial Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Keynote Financial Services LLC cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,771 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 321 shares during the period. Keynote Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Up 1.9 %

WMT opened at $98.65 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.20 and a 12 month high of $105.30. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $95.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.58. The company has a market cap of $792.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart 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.