Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 96.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,910,002 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,425,321 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Walmart were worth $251,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Walmart by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Walmart by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in Walmart by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 36,945 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,338,000 after buying an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coleford Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,486,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $107.47.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $100.91 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $72.52 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $97.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.58. The stock has a market cap of $805.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.12, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $1,248,712.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 932,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,700,258.82. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,334 shares of company stock worth $13,913,350 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.