Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. by 26.2%, resulting in ownership of 69,374 shares valued at approximately $6,090,000.
• Several analysts have issued positive ratings on Walmart, with price targets raised, including a target of $120.00 from Tigress Financial, indicating a strong investor sentiment.
• CEO C. Douglas McMillon sold 29,148 shares of Walmart's stock, while insiders collectively sold 146,112 shares over the past three months.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 26.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,374 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 24,649 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 319.7% during the first quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 98.2% during the first 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 last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in 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 bought a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton increased its stake in Walmart by 95.2% in the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of WMT traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.68. 17,913,175 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,932,130. The company has a market capitalization of $827.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.31, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.14 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company's 50 day moving average is $97.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.51.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.70.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, 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 value of $1,248,712.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 932,313 shares in the company, valued at $88,700,258.82. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $380,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,056,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,511,128.70. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,080,073 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% 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.