Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 53,798 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.4% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total transaction of $1,887,041.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,431,783 shares in the company, valued at $430,724,989.77. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total value of $380,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,060,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,997,734.20. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.67.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $98.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $784.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.00, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.36. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

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.