Longbow Finance SA Lowers Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Longbow Finance SA cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 172,019 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 66,391 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 1.8% of Longbow Finance SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Longbow Finance SA’s holdings in Walmart were worth $15,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Walmart by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,532,000 after purchasing an additional 19,233 shares in the last quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 3,154 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Scalar Gauge Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Scalar Gauge Management LLC now owns 69,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,234,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monument Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 94.2% in the first quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,829,000 after acquiring an additional 26,685 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 126,696 shares of company stock worth $12,222,245 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.67.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $96.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $96.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.77. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $771.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.29, a PEG ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share 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 firm 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 business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Walmart 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.