Horan Capital Advisors LLC. Sells 14,490 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Horan Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. by 21.0%, owning 54,463 shares after selling 14,490 shares in the first quarter, making Walmart its 18th largest position.
• Several other institutional investors also changed their positions in Walmart, with Eagle Capital Management and Brighton Jones LLC increasing their holdings by 9.1% and 28.8%, respectively.
• Research analysts have increased Walmart's price targets, with Robert W. Baird raising it from $100.00 to $110.00 and Mizuho from $105.00 to $115.00, maintaining an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Horan Capital Advisors LLC. decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 21.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,463 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 14,490 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.6% of Horan Capital Advisors LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Horan Capital Advisors LLC.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $24,532,000 after buying an additional 19,233 shares in the last quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 3,154 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Scalar Gauge Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Scalar Gauge Management LLC now owns 69,000 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,234,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monument Capital Management increased its position in shares of Walmart by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,829,000 after purchasing an additional 26,685 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9%

Walmart stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.45. 12,845,633 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,596,366. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.86. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $777.72 billion, a PE ratio of 41.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.68. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share 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 last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $216,568.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 126,696 shares of company stock worth $12,222,245 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

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.