Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Trims Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 20.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,904 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,658 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 0.8% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $697,029,000 after acquiring an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,707.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $324,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,512,368 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,765,159 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $882,282,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,477 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $94.36 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.52. The stock has a market cap of $753.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share 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 $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $1,887,041.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,431,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,724,989.77. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319. 45.58% of the stock is 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.