Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $69.42 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 790,769 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,137 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $69,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $98.25 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.29. The company has a market cap of $784.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.99, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,511 shares of company stock worth $13,493,751 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

Walmart Company Profile

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.