Generate Investment Management Ltd Acquires 153,468 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Generate Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 161.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 248,816 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 153,468 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 1.5% of Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $21,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $374,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 123,295 shares of company stock worth $11,801,762. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $97.24 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $776.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $96.65 and a 200-day moving average of $94.20. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

About Walmart

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.