Clarendon Private LLC Purchases Shares of 3,478 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Clarendon Private LLC has acquired 3,478 shares of Walmart Inc., valued at approximately $305,000, in the first quarter of the year.
• Insider transactions have seen executives John D. Rainey and Kathryn J. Mclay sell significant amounts of Walmart stock, reflecting a slight decrease in their ownership percentage.
• Walmart recently announced a dividend payment of $0.235 per share, representing a dividend yield of 0.95% with a payout ratio of 40.17%.

Clarendon Private LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,478 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after buying an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,696,396,000 after buying an additional 233,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 28,365,122 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,562,789,000 after buying an additional 368,711 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.37. The stock had a trading volume of 14,029,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,320,868. The company's 50-day moving average is $96.76 and its 200 day moving average is $94.91. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $785.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,412,398 shares in the company, valued at $421,737,000.84. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $166,726.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 649,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,066,674.80. This represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,078,027 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.