Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,953,654 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 151,291 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Walmart worth $522,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 9,896.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock worth $697,029,000 after acquiring an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in Walmart by 1,707.6% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer's stock worth $324,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,512,368 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $216,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,851,623.92. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.68 on Thursday, hitting $98.29. 7,686,204 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,082,978. The firm's 50-day moving average is $97.02 and its 200 day moving average is $94.31. The company has a market capitalization of $784.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 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 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 earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm 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 business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart's payout ratio is 40.17%.

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.