Aspiriant LLC Has $1.18 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Aspiriant LLC decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,459 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,950 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $1,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Whelan Financial grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.3% in the 4th 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 position in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,294 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,659. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9%

WMT stock opened at $95.10 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.55 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $758.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.