Capital Investment Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 138,731 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 10,329 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $12,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $97.46 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.90 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.71 and a 200 day moving average of $93.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.16.

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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