Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 784,093 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 23,597 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $68,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors raised its position in Walmart by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock worth $24,532,000 after acquiring an additional 19,233 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in Walmart by 209.7% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer's stock worth $79,960,000 after acquiring an additional 599,257 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,292 shares in the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $1,124,000. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $4,658,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $95.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $758.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a PEG ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.11. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.55 and a 52 week high of $105.30. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 135,294 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,659. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Walmart

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.