AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lowered its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 454,819 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 63,102 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Walmart were worth $39,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Whelan Financial grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded down $1.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $97.82. The company had a trading volume of 15,760,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,638,865. The company has a market capitalization of $782.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.64 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.16.

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.