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

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 26.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,294 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 14,713 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after buying an additional 514,036 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of WMT traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $94.36. The stock had a trading volume of 14,577,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,101,523. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.48. The firm has a market cap of $753.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The company's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.