Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,880 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,793 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.7% of Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $5,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake 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 valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.
Walmart Stock Performance
Walmart stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.05. 8,041,385 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,076,628. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30. 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 has a market cap of $758.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $96.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.59.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.
Walmart Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Walmart
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% 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 Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total transaction of $380,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,060,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,997,734.20. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 142,695 shares of company stock worth $13,710,162. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
About Walmart
(
Free Report)
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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