Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,562 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,601 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 1.0% of Simmons Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $12,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after purchasing an additional 751,713 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,852,277,000 after acquiring an additional 426,388 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,698,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,729 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 4.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,765,278 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,361,411,000 after purchasing an additional 562,256 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,011,647 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,081,120,000 after buying an additional 78,981 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,187,943.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Europe increased their price target on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.94.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.33. The stock had a trading volume of 7,487,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,342,713. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $60.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $486.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 43.38%.

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.