Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,834 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $5,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.50.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Walmart
Walmart Stock Performance
Shares of Walmart stock opened at $98.04 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.55 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $782.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.18.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Walmart Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was 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 owns 520,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,419 shares of company stock worth $14,295,650 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Walmart
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report).
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