Motco Trims Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Motco has reduced its shareholding in Walmart Inc. by 2.9%, now holding 146,877 shares valued at approximately $12.9 million, making it the 12th largest position in their portfolio.
• Insider selling included EVP John R. Furner offloading 13,125 shares for over $1.2 million, indicating a 1.39% decrease in his ownership in Walmart.
• Analysts show a generally positive outlook on Walmart, with 30 out of 33 analysts rating it as a buy and a projected average price target of $106.67.

Motco lessened its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 146,877 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 4,393 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 1.4% of Motco's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Motco's holdings in Walmart were worth $12,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Walmart by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 36,945 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares during the period. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $1,248,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 932,313 shares in the company, valued at $88,700,258.82. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 126,696 shares of company stock valued at $12,222,245 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9%

Walmart stock opened at $97.45 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.81. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $777.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.65, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

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