Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Sierra Ocean LLC

Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,227 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $1,887,041.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,431,783 shares in the company, valued at $430,724,989.77. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total value of $380,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,060,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,997,734.20. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho upped their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $98.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.36. The company has a market cap of $784.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given 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 (DPR) is 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.