Chilton Capital Management LLC Buys 378,087 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 1,514.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 403,049 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 378,087 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.5% of Chilton Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Chilton Capital Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $35,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whelan Financial grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer's stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the first quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 2,920 shares of the retailer's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the retailer's stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of WMT opened at $98.29 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $97.14 and its 200 day moving average is $94.36. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $784.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.