Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 460,356 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14,966 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.3% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $40,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 9,896.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.7%

WMT stock opened at $94.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.06. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.30 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $751.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 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, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,421,282. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.