Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 10.1%, owning 612,569 shares valued at $53,777,000 following a recent purchase.
• Walmart reported earnings of $0.61 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 2.5% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.235 per share, with a dividend yield of 90.0%, to be paid on September 2nd.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 612,569 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 56,437 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $53,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.8% during the first quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 24,950 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 33.6% during the first quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 7,264 shares of the retailer's stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 9,997 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Walmart by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 41,719 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,662,000 after buying an additional 7,692 shares during the period. Finally, TriaGen Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $99.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.52 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $97.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.56. The company has a market capitalization of $797.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $216,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,851,623.92. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,334 shares of company stock valued at $13,526,350. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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