Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Buys 121,187 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,186,172 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 121,187 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.7% of Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $191,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 945,434 shares in the company, valued at $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,419 shares of company stock worth $14,295,650 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $97.88 on Tuesday. 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 one year low of $66.55 and a one year high of $105.30. The company's fifty day moving average price is $96.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.15. The company has a market capitalization of $781.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.83, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.

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