Rakuten Securities Inc. Sells 850 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 18.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,811 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Walmart by 7.6% in the 4th 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 during the period. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 209.7% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Cushing Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,124,000. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $4,658,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $374,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,096,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,518,542.50. The trade was a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% 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 valued at $12,656,659 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

Walmart stock opened at $94.24 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.55 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $752.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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 business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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