Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 14,676 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,326,000.

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

Walmart Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE WMT opened at $96.49 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $92.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $772.00 billion, a PE ratio of 40.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.16 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.94.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total transaction of $214,214.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,607,751.66. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 177,583 shares of company stock worth $16,701,404. Insiders own 45.58% 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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