Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Sells 20,452 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 279,558 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20,452 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 1.0% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $25,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $9,965,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.6% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 713,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $57,644,000 after buying an additional 11,022 shares during the period. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $2,072,000. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 26,801 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $81.59 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $654.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.10 and a 200 day moving average of $89.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.