Phillips Wealth Planners LLC Sells 173 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Phillips Wealth Planners LLC cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,777 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,532,000 after buying an additional 19,233 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 209.7% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares during the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,124,000. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,658,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 0.8%

Walmart stock opened at $97.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $776.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $96.65 and a 200-day moving average of $94.20.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $374,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,096,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,518,542.50. This represents a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 123,295 shares of company stock worth $11,801,762. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

About Walmart

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.