Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Sells 15,630 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 349,627 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15,630 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $55,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Kepos Capital LP acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.01.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total value of $228,523,137.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,860,933,910.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total value of $228,523,137.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,860,933,910.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,733,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,237,280,394. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT traded down $0.38 on Thursday, hitting $64.87. 7,601,319 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,676,762. The firm has a market capitalization of $522.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.34 and a 12 month high of $65.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.71.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.52%.

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.