Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Ramirez Asset Management Inc.

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 180.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,400 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Lipe & Dalton lifted its holdings in Walmart by 95.2% in the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,078,027 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $97.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.89. The company has a market cap of $778.65 billion, a PE ratio of 41.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.67.

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.