PFG Investments LLC Lowers Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

PFG Investments LLC decreased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,014 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 478 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 0.6% of PFG Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th 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 period. 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 period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,645,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of WMT opened at $96.16 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.15. The company has a market cap of $767.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.55 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,294 shares of company stock worth $12,656,659. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.