Crane Advisory LLC Makes New $308,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Crane Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,315 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keystone Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,103 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 95.8% in the 1st quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,803 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 93,505 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 60,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,283,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 102.1% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 28,725 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,522,000 after acquiring an additional 14,511 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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 cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 630,518 shares in the company, valued at $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $94.20 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.41 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $751.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.

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