Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Position Raised by GAM Holding AG

GAM Holding AG lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,368 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the quarter. GAM Holding AG’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $374,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,096,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,518,542.50. This trade represents a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,294 shares of company stock worth $12,656,659 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price target (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $96.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $767.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.15. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.55 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend 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.