South Dakota Investment Council Sells 76,731 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 44.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,196 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 76,731 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Walmart were worth $8,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 98.2% during the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Lipe & Dalton increased its position in shares of Walmart by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total value of $380,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,060,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $100,997,734.20. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 142,695 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,162. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.01. The stock had a trading volume of 14,622,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,156,813. The company's 50 day moving average price is $96.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $758.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.68.

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. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.