Core Alternative Capital Reduces Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Core Alternative Capital trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,992 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 19,185 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 2.1% of Core Alternative Capital's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Core Alternative Capital's holdings in Walmart were worth $8,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $98.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $784.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.00, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.77, for a total value of $166,795.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 650,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,693,090.29. The trade was a 0.27% 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, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total transaction of $1,887,041.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,431,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,724,989.77. The trade was a 0.44% 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 $13,710,319 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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