Artemis Investment Management LLP Sells 33,858 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Artemis Investment Management LLP lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 822,767 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 33,858 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 1.1% of Artemis Investment Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Walmart were worth $72,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the first quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,709 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,680,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the first quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 2,920 shares of the retailer's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 8.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Enterprises LLC now owns 16,006 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 8.3% during the first quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 42,978 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,773,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 16.5% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 32,771 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 4,653 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $1.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $97.41. 31,424,295 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,041,297. The company has a market capitalization of $777.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.63, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm's 50-day moving average is $96.80 and its 200 day moving average is $94.24. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.67 and a 1 year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for 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 was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $1,887,041.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,431,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,724,989.77. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,688,803 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. 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, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 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.