MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 22,119 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,126,791 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 22,119 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.5% of MetLife Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $98,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 319.7% during the first quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 98.2% during the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 432.4% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 95.2% during the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total value of $1,855,781.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $421,737,000.84. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $1,248,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 932,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,700,258.82. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 88,841 shares of company stock worth $8,565,205 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $110.07.

Walmart Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $96.8190 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $772.66 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.79. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.01 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $97.99 and its 200 day moving average is $95.58.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

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.