Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Arlington Partners LLC

Arlington Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,485 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,417 shares during the quarter. Arlington Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th 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. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,707.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $324,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.19, for a total value of $2,743,189.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,480,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,003,883.93. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 123,295 shares of company stock valued at $11,801,762. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $97.24 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.20. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $776.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

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.