Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 127.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 560,157 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 313,436 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $49,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,532,331,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 7,860,306 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,922,770,000 after acquiring an additional 7,706,201 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in Walmart by 28,684.8% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,229,354 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,214,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $101.05 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.85 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.55. 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 market capitalization of $806.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $107.47.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,064,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $216,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 144,334 shares of company stock valued at $13,913,350. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.