Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 3,599 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,279 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,599 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,480,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,003,883.93. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,688,803. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:WMT opened at $97.41 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $96.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $777.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.63, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.