Tower Bridge Advisors Sells 20,862 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Tower Bridge Advisors reduced its holdings in Walmart by 23.5%, selling 20,862 shares, leaving it with 67,870 shares valued at approximately $5.96 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Walmart reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.61 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.58, and achieved quarterly revenue of $165.61 billion, which was above expectations.
• The company's recent dividend was set at $0.235 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.95%, while its payout ratio stands at 40.17%.

Tower Bridge Advisors decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 23.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,870 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 20,862 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors' holdings in Walmart were worth $5,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the first quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 243,879 shares of the retailer's stock worth $21,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,315 shares in the last quarter. Independence Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth $336,000. Brucke Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the first quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 28,616 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the first quarter. FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,763 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 56,148 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,075,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,744 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total transaction of $166,726.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 649,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,066,674.80. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,851,623.92. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,078,027 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Down 0.8%

WMT traded down $0.74 on Wednesday, hitting $97.59. The company had a trading volume of 13,844,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,240,789. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.67 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's quarterly 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 business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.