Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Sandy Spring Bank

Sandy Spring Bank trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 262,708 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,669 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 1.0% of Sandy Spring Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $23,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arvest Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 48,178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,353,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,965,994 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $177,628,000 after purchasing an additional 30,533 shares during the period. Next Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 22,853 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the period. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,105,000. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,588,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $86.36 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.92.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company 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 year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.