Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Howland Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Howland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in Q1, owning 357,931 shares worth approximately $31.5 million.
• Walmart reported a **12-month revenue increase** of 2.5% compared to the previous year, with quarterly earnings per share of $0.61, exceeding analysts' estimates.
• The company declared a **dividend** of $0.235, with a payout ratio of 40.17%, reflecting Walmart's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Howland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 357,931 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 6,441 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 1.4% of Howland Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Howland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $31,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 9,896.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in Walmart by 1,707.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $324,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in Walmart by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,765,159 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $882,282,000 after purchasing an additional 3,182,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 25,917,346 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,341,632,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,413 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 932,313 shares in the company, valued at $88,700,258.82. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total value 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 have sold a total of 143,912 shares of company stock valued at $13,863,813 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4%

WMT traded up $0.42 on Friday, reaching $98.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,740,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,707,151. The stock has a market cap of $785.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.67 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business's 50 day moving average is $96.86 and its 200 day moving average is $95.03.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 95.0%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

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.