Board of the Pension Protection Fund Has $878,000 Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 25.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,000 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,400 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund's holdings in Walmart were worth $878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Whelan Financial increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th 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. Planning Center Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Planning Center Inc. now owns 6,018 shares of the retailer's stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 10,871 shares of the retailer's stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $97.41 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $96.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.24. 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 $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $777.37 billion, a PE ratio of 41.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, 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, June 9th. Two 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.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.19, for a total value of $2,743,189.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,480,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $422,003,883.93. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,688,803 in the last three months. 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.

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