Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 127.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 560,157 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 313,436 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $49,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 319.7% during the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 432.4% during 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 in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.47.
View Our Latest Stock Report on WMT
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,451,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $103,252,135. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 144,334 shares of company stock valued at $13,913,350. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.
Walmart Trading Down 2.5%
Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $101.05 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.85 and a twelve 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $806.42 billion, a PE ratio of 43.18, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.66.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.
Walmart Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Walmart's payout ratio is presently 40.17%.
About Walmart
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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