Schnieders Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Schnieders Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,990 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 17,225 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 1.8% of Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 17.6% in the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,403 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 1,705 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 29,274 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,364,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.7% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,158 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.2% in the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 56,787 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,586,000 after buying an additional 3,822 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $96.11 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.20 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $772.10 billion, a PE ratio of 39.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.17.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

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.