Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA Reduces Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA decreased its Walmart Inc. holdings by 5.9% in Q1, leaving them with a position worth approximately $4.86 million.
• Insider selling was noted, with EVP John D. Rainey and CEO C. Douglas McMillon selling shares, indicating a combined decrease in their stock positions.
• Walmart reported $165.61 billion in revenue for the most recent quarter, exceeding estimates, and declared a $0.235 dividend per share for stockholders.

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,360 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,464 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.4% of Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA's holdings in Walmart were worth $4,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 9,896.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock worth $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in Walmart by 1,707.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer's stock worth $324,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in Walmart by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,765,159 shares of the retailer's stock worth $882,282,000 after purchasing an additional 3,182,477 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WMT. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction 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. This trade 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 hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $380,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,056,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,511,128.70. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 126,696 shares of company stock valued at $12,222,245 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.45. The company had a trading volume of 12,845,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,596,366. The company has a market capitalization of $777.72 billion, a PE ratio of 41.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 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. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $96.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.86.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid 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%.

Walmart 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.