Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 6,824 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,586 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 6,824 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $7,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $216,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,851,623.92. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,951 shares of company stock valued at $13,543,436. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of WMT traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $95.42. The stock had a trading volume of 10,436,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,087,435. The firm has a market cap of $761.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.55. 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 twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.