Prudential PLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC decreased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 19.1% in Q1, holding 167,759 shares valued at approximately $14.7 million.
• Several equity analysts have raised their target prices for Walmart, with the consensus now at $106.67 and a majority rating it as a buy.
• Walmart announced a dividend of $0.235 per share, set to be paid on September 2nd, with a payout ratio of 40.17%.

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 19.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 167,759 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 39,706 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $14,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Operose Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 319.7% during the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 432.4% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2%

Walmart stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.68. The stock had a trading volume of 17,913,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,932,130. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.14 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $827.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.31, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Erste Group Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $106.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $88,700,258.82. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.30, for a total value of $216,260.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 626,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,547,399.40. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,080,073 over the last three months. 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.