Arlington Partners LLC Has $3.73 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Arlington Partners LLC cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,485 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,417 shares during the period. Arlington Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE WMT opened at $97.24 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.67 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $776.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. Walmart’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total value of $380,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060,455 shares in the company, valued at $100,997,734.20. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.19, for a total value of $2,743,189.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,480,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,003,883.93. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 123,295 shares of company stock worth $11,801,762. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

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.