Horizon Investment Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Horizon Investment Services LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,734 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 198 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake 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 worth $324,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in Walmart by 48.3% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 3,182,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $95.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $758.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 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’s 50 day moving average price is $96.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.68. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,431,783 shares in the company, valued at $430,724,989.77. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 138,695 shares of company stock worth $13,336,162 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.