Sapient Capital LLC Sells 5,600 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sapient Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 404,477 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 5,600 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.7% of Sapient Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Sapient Capital LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $35,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.50.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:WMT traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $94.80. 17,813,539 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,893,103. The firm has a market cap of $758.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.95 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $95.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.01.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Walmart's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

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.