Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Foster & Motley Inc.

Key Points

• Foster & Motley Inc. reduced its stake in Walmart by 13.7%, selling 13,159 shares and holding 82,887 shares valued at $7.28 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Walmart's recent earnings report showed a net revenue increase of 2.5% year-over-year, with an EPS of $0.61, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Walmart announced a dividend of $0.235 per share, representing a yield of 0.95%, with a payout ratio of 40.17%.

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,887 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 13,159 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 9,896.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock worth $697,029,000 after buying an additional 7,860,306 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased 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 acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1,707.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer's stock worth $324,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,765,159 shares of the retailer's stock worth $882,282,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $97.59. The company had a trading volume of 13,844,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,240,789. The stock has a market cap of $778.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.71, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. 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 $96.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.93. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.67 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. Walmart's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,851,623.92. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $1,248,712.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 932,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders have sold 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,078,027. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.