Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Purchases 14,713 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,294 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 14,713 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 0.8% of Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $6,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its stake in Walmart by 110.1% during the first quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 25,840 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,544 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.4% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 288,967 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $25,368,000 after acquiring an additional 14,721 shares in the last quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.2% during the first quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC now owns 4,756 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.6% during the first quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 74,313 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,524,000 after acquiring an additional 2,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Slagle Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the first quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 18,177 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,596,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT traded down $1.87 during trading on Thursday, reaching $94.94. The stock had a trading volume of 7,843,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,046,746. The stock has a market cap of $757.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.68. 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 one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.24 and a 200-day moving average of $94.45.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart's payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total value of $380,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,060,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,997,734.20. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $1,887,041.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,431,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,724,989.77. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

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.