Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Position Reduced by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,146 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,068 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Walmart were worth $2,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock worth $24,532,000 after purchasing an additional 19,233 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 209.7% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer's stock worth $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares in the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,124,000. GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,658,000. Finally, Full Sail Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 6.6% during 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. KeyCorp upped their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Mizuho upped their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7%

WMT stock traded up $0.68 on Friday, hitting $98.29. 7,686,204 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,082,978. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $784.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 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 business's fifty day moving average is $97.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.33.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 posted $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 630,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,421,282. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of Walmart 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.