CenterBook Partners LP Takes $15.16 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 172,669 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $15,159,000. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.0% of CenterBook Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 9,896.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock worth $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,922,770,000 after purchasing an additional 7,706,201 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 28,684.8% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,229,354 shares of the retailer's stock worth $371,295,000 after purchasing an additional 4,214,661 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's 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 owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of WMT traded up $1.43 during trading on Monday, reaching $95.83. 13,768,629 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,832,529. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.52. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $764.75 billion, a PE ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.