Biltmore Family Office LLC Cuts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Biltmore Family Office LLC decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,341 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 224 shares during the quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $756,000. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 80,253 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 28,799 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,605,000 after purchasing an additional 12,099 shares during the period. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $531,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Walmart by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,677,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $151,558,000 after purchasing an additional 65,840 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $89.88 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $720.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued 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 1.05%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,652 shares of company stock worth $16,590,028 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

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.