Dearborn Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 18.5%, now owning approximately 398,784 shares, valued at $35 million.
• During the same period, other institutional investors, like Bear Mountain Capital Inc., had significant increases in their Walmart holdings, including a 98.2% boost.
• Walmart's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, posting $0.61 earnings per share, while the company also declared a dividend yield of 0.95%.

Dearborn Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 18.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 398,784 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 90,543 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.7% of Dearborn Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $35,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Lipe & Dalton increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 95.2% in the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Walmart Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $0.74 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.59. 13,844,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,240,789. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.67 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $778.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's fifty day moving average is $96.78 and its 200 day moving average is $94.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total value of $1,855,781.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $421,737,000.84. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at $61,851,623.92. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,078,027 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.