MQS Management LLC Purchases Shares of 10,772 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 10,772 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $946,000. Walmart accounts for about 0.5% of MQS Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two equities 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 MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Up 1.5%

WMT traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $95.83. 13,768,629 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,118,010. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company's fifty day moving average price is $97.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.52. The company has a market cap of $764.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS 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 business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.