Norden Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Norden Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,842 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 623 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Kepos Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $59.32 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $478.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $59.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.90.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at $31,613,179.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stifel Europe lifted their target price on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

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.