Islay Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Islay Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 75.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 450 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $41,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $83.09 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $666.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

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.