Gemmer Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gemmer Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 19.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,410 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Gemmer Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $252,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,283,000 after buying an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,645,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,064,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 630,518 shares in the company, valued at $62,421,282. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:WMT opened at $97.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.84. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.64 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WMT. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.16.

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.