Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Has $44.59 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. has decreased its stake in Walmart by 11.3%, now holding approximately $44.59 million worth of shares after selling over 64,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider trades show that CEO C. Douglas McMillon and EVP John R. Furner have sold shares recently, with McMillon reducing his stake by 0.65% and Furner by 1.39%.
• Walmart's most recent earnings report exceeded expectations, showing $165.61 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $0.61, indicating a 2.5% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. trimmed its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 507,917 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 64,431 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $44,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. LWM Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,864 shares of the retailer's stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 111,553 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,909,000 after acquiring an additional 16,342 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 75,023 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 455,029 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,947,000 after acquiring an additional 84,817 shares during the period. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 4,385 shares of the retailer's stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $1,248,712.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 932,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,700,258.82. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,334 shares of company stock worth $13,913,350 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $99.96 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.52 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $797.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.66. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $97.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.59.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $107.47.

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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