University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Acquires 43,475 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• The University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 41.3%, making it the fund's 7th largest position valued at approximately $13 million.
• Walmart reported $0.61 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $165.61 billion, up 2.5% from the previous year.
• The company has a market capitalization of $777.72 billion and a dividend yield of 0.95%, with a payout ratio of 40.17%.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 41.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,621 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 43,475 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 2.2% of University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.4% during 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 buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during 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. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,696,396,000 after purchasing an additional 233,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Walmart by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 28,365,122 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,562,789,000 after purchasing an additional 368,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at $421,737,000.84. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,912 shares of company stock worth $13,863,813 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $0.46 on Thursday, reaching $98.05. The stock had a trading volume of 5,766,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,105,861. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $782.49 billion, a PE ratio of 41.90, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $96.78 and a 200 day moving average of $94.93.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Walmart 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.