GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,877 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $12,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two equities 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $216,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.77, for a total transaction of $166,795.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 650,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,693,090.29. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE WMT opened at $98.29 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.33. The stock has a market cap of $784.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.00, a PEG ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. 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 previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

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.