Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Takes $3.73 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 41,319 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,733,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,518,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 60,078 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,428,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 4,180 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 312,170 shares of the retailer's stock worth $28,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total transaction of $214,214.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 632,718 shares in the company, valued at $61,607,751.66. This represents a 0.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.21 on Wednesday, reaching $98.76. 11,301,127 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,814,602. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $790.13 billion, a PE ratio of 40.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company's 50 day moving average is $90.62 and its 200-day moving average is $91.70. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.44 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.94.

Walmart 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.