Corient IA LLC Takes Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Corient IA LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 13,500 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,000. Walmart makes up approximately 0.8% of Corient IA LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position 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 buying an additional 294 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton lifted its holdings in Walmart by 95.2% in the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has 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, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.29.

Walmart Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $99.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $797.72 billion, a PE ratio of 42.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.58. 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 $72.52 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $1,248,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 932,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,700,258.82. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $166,726.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 649,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,066,674.80. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,334 shares of company stock worth $13,913,350. 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.