Public Sector Pension Investment Board Cuts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. by 26.9%, owning approximately 2.2 million shares after selling over 816,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Walmart reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.61, beating expectations of $0.58, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 2.5% to $165.61 billion.
• Several institutional investors, including Operose Advisors LLC and Bear Mountain Capital Inc., have significantly increased their stakes in Walmart, indicating a growing interest among institutional investors in the retailer's stock.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 26.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,219,919 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 816,382 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 0.8% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Walmart were worth $194,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 319.7% in the first quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 98.2% in the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Lipe & Dalton increased its stake in Walmart by 95.2% in the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth about $49,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $103.77 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $97.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $828.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. 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 posted 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart 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 transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, 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, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,080,073 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

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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