TCW Group Inc. Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 2.1%, now holding 155,689 shares valued at $13.7 million.
• Walmart's shares are currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with thirty buy ratings and a consensus price target of $106.67.
• Walmart announced a recent $0.235 dividend, yielding approximately 0.95%, indicating a steady return for shareholders.

TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 155,689 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,214 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Lipe & Dalton raised its position in Walmart by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer upped 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $216,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,851,623.92. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 143,912 shares of company stock worth $13,863,813. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Thursday, reaching $98.05. The company had a trading volume of 5,708,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,104,152. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $96.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $782.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. 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 issued 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. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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