Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Clarus Group Inc.

Clarus Group Inc. trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,248 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 784 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 0.5% of Clarus Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in Walmart during the first quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total value of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,688,803 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given 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.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $97.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $777.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.67 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors 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 (DPR) is presently 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.