Oak Family Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Oak Family Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 18.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,494 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 17,582 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 2.2% of Oak Family Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Oak Family Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased 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 purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.68.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $97.45 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $65.90 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $779.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 over the last three months. 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.