Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,427 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in Walmart in the first quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.62. 12,498,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,077,380. The company's 50 day moving average price is $96.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.29. The firm has a market cap of $779.05 billion, a PE ratio of 41.72, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 630,518 shares in the company, valued at $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319. 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.