Estabrook Capital Management Cuts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Estabrook Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 80,113 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 971 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 1.1% of Estabrook Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Spreng Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,119 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Walmart by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 4,817 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 38,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 102,920 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $879,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $81.59 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $654.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.