Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 73.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 736,181 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,032,693 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $64,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 18.4% during the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 733 shares of the retailer's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.0% during the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,117 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 40.5% during the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,905 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,835,000 after acquiring an additional 6,026 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in Walmart in the first quarter worth about $5,269,000. Finally, Gibson Capital LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 27.6% in the first quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 7,805 shares of the retailer's stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 1,686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $94.80. 17,813,539 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,893,103. The company has a market cap of $758.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company's 50-day moving average price is $95.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.01. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.95 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Company 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.