Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,294 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 14,713 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.8% of Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $6,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after purchasing an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $1.89 on Thursday, hitting $94.92. 18,834,936 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,115,602. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.67 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $757.48 billion, a PE ratio of 40.56, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for 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%. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total transaction of $380,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,060,455 shares in the company, valued at $100,997,734.20. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.