Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases 136,998 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 114.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 256,366 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 136,998 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Walmart were worth $21,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Walmart by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,532,000 after acquiring an additional 19,233 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 209.7% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $79,960,000 after purchasing an additional 599,257 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares during the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $1,124,000. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $359,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:WMT opened at $95.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.90 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $765.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.01.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.