Element Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Element Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 32,022 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,811,000. Walmart accounts for 0.7% of Element Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 319.7% during the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in Walmart by 432.4% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton lifted its position in Walmart by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $380,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,056,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,511,128.70. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,412,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $421,737,000.84. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 144,334 shares of company stock worth $13,913,350. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $100.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $805.28 billion, a PE ratio of 43.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $97.55 and its 200-day moving average is $95.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.52 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $107.47.

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.