Seizert Capital Partners LLC Sells 50,771 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Seizert Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 10% during Q1, owning 459,029 shares valued at $40.30 million.
• Walmart's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.61, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $165.61 billion, up 2.5% year-over-year.
• The stock currently has a market cap of approximately $785 billion and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts with a target price of $106.67.

Seizert Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 459,029 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 50,771 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 1.8% of Seizert Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Seizert Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $40,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,696,396,000 after acquiring an additional 233,040 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Walmart by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 28,365,122 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,562,789,000 after purchasing an additional 368,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 25,917,346 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,341,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,413 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,844,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,240,789. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.71, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.93. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,412,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $421,737,000.84. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,744 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $166,726.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 649,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,066,674.80. This represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,078,027 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.