Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1,218.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,913 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,915 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total transaction of $380,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,060,455 shares in the company, valued at $100,997,734.20. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,851,623.92. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.67.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $98.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $784.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.00, a PEG ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $97.07 and a 200-day moving average of $94.33. 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 1-year low of $66.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders 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 payout ratio is 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.