New Century Financial Group LLC Reduces Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

New Century Financial Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,811 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,043 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.2% of New Century Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.2% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 28,827 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,531,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 217.2% during the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,743 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after buying an additional 8,041 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 73,239 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,430,000 after buying an additional 3,324 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 338,214 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,760,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.7% during the first quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Walmart Stock Down 0.7%

WMT stock opened at $94.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $751.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.06. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.30 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664. 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.