Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Walmart by 16.1%, selling 481,614 shares, leaving it with 2,507,640 shares valued at approximately $220.1 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Monument Capital Management and Milestone Asset Management LLC, significantly increased their positions in Walmart, with increases of 94.2% and 156.7%, respectively.
• Walmart recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, to be paid on September 2nd, which represents a dividend yield of 90.0%.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,507,640 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 481,614 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $220,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Full Sail Capital LLC raised its position in Walmart by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC raised its position in Walmart by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 3,154 shares of the retailer's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management raised its position in Walmart by 94.2% during the first quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,829,000 after acquiring an additional 26,685 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Walmart by 11.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,959,752 shares of the retailer's stock worth $698,787,000 after acquiring an additional 838,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 156.7% during the first quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 54,659 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,799,000 after acquiring an additional 33,370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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 boosted their price objective 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $107.47.

Walmart Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $99.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $797.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.52 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company's fifty day moving average is $97.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $88,700,258.82. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,334 shares of company stock worth $13,913,350 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report).

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.