Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 790,769 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 35,137 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Walmart were worth $69,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $98.29. 7,686,204 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,082,978. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $784.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.68. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $97.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.31. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.67 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given 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 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.