Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 180,728 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,523,758 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 180,728 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,647,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Kepos Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of WMT traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.55. The company had a trading volume of 5,599,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,321,520. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.12. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65. The company has a market capitalization of $487.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 43.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total transaction of $781,068.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 219,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,065,241.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631 in the last three months. 46.51% 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.