CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $299,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,409 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.10. 11,215,002 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,916,866. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.55 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock's fifty day moving average is $96.13 and its 200 day moving average is $94.11. The firm has a market cap of $758.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share 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 business 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. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 135,294 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,659. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.50.

Walmart Company 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.