Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Takes $15.51 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP has acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc., purchasing 176,638 shares valued at approximately $15.51 million during the 1st quarter.
• Walmart reported a net margin of 2.75% and quarterly revenue of $165.61 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.61 for the quarter.
• The company recently announced a $0.235 dividend per share, which represents a dividend yield of 90.0%, to be paid to investors on September 2nd.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 176,638 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $15,507,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Full Sail Capital LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,829,000 after acquiring an additional 26,685 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,959,752 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $698,787,000 after purchasing an additional 838,689 shares during the period. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 156.7% in the 1st quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 54,659 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 33,370 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $100.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $805.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.66. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.52 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued 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 currently 40.17%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were 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 approximately $61,547,399.40. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,412,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $421,737,000.84. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,334 shares of company stock valued at $13,913,350 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.47.

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.

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