FDx Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

FDx Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,389 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 761 shares during the period. FDx Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.3% during the third quarter. Chris Bulman Inc now owns 4,244 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the third quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,262 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.3% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 139,003 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,224,000 after buying an additional 1,783 shares during the period. Finally, Spring Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 189.5% during the third quarter. Spring Capital Management LLC now owns 84,476 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,821,000 after buying an additional 55,295 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 6.5 %

Walmart stock opened at $97.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.60 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $781.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.25.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This is an increase from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 34.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.