Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 206 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,317 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 206 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.58.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,782 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,305 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $93.17 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.18. 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 current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $746.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS 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 given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.