Bridges Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,068 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 5,321 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 worth $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,796,129,000 after purchasing an additional 514,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE WMT traded down $0.50 on Friday, reaching $94.36. 14,577,628 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,111,476. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.49. The company has a market cap of $753.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.67 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. Walmart's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. 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 announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given 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 (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was 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 directly owned 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,451,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.