Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Buys 60,915 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 1,218.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,913 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 60,915 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 262 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,619,848.90. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $1,887,041.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,431,783 shares in the company, valued at $430,724,989.77. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7%

WMT traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.29. The company had a trading volume of 7,686,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,082,978. The company has a market cap of $784.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.14 and a 200-day moving average of $94.35. 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 released 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Walmart Company 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.