Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Catalina Capital Group LLC

Catalina Capital Group LLC reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 66.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,707 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 13,151 shares during the quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $252,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,283,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,645,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $95.10 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.11. The company has a market capitalization of $758.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.55 and a 1 year high of $105.30. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend 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

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $374,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,096,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,518,542.50. This trade represents a 0.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 135,294 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,659. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.