Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 32,036 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 231,877 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 32,036 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $20,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 630,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,421,282. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.16.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

WMT stock opened at $97.46 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.90 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $94.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.88.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 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 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

About Walmart

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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