Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 81,456 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 514,528 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 81,456 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 1.2% of Intech Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $81,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer's stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer's stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 4.1% in the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $1,944,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,221,033 shares of company stock valued at $518,194,888 over the last three months. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Walmart to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Europe increased their price target on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.01.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $65.38. 11,795,024 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,962,526. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $60.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.86. The company has a market cap of $526.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $65.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart's payout ratio is 35.52%.

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.