National Pension Service Purchases 430,297 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its investment in Walmart Inc. by 4.8% in Q1, acquiring an additional 430,297 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 9.3 million shares valued at around $817.6 million.
• Walmart recently reported earnings of $0.61 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations and achieving a revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter.
• Multiple analysts upgraded their ratings on Walmart, with a consensus target price now set at $106.70, reflecting a strong positive outlook for the stock.

National Pension Service raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,313,331 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 430,297 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 0.8% of National Pension Service's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. National Pension Service owned about 0.12% of Walmart worth $817,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $820,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management boosted its position in Walmart by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 15,082 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,324,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at $119,000. LGT Group Foundation boosted its position in Walmart by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 63,020 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,533,000 after buying an additional 4,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Walmart by 432.4% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.70.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $103.68 on Wednesday. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $97.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.51. The company has a market cap of $827.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.14 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Walmart's payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $216,568.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,080,073 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is 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.

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