Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Reduces Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 7.9%, now holding 810,900 shares, which represents 0.9% of its portfolio.
• Insider trading activity included John D. Rainey and John R. Furner selling shares, with total insider sales of 144,334 shares valued at approximately $13.9 million over the past three months.
• Walmart announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, with a dividend yield of 90.0%, and had a PE ratio of 43.18 during the latest reporting period.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 810,900 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 69,100 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 0.9% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Walmart were worth $71,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Operose Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 319.7% in the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 98.2% in the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 432.4% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 95.2% in the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.30, for a total value of $216,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 626,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,547,399.40. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $1,248,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 932,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,700,258.82. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 144,334 shares of company stock valued at $13,913,350. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $101.05 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.85 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 cap of $806.42 billion, a PE ratio of 43.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $106.87.

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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