Curat Global LLC Invests $494,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,631 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 2.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:WMT traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $97.46. 15,583,112 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,900,687. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.53 and a 200 day moving average of $93.76. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.64 and a 12 month high of $105.30. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.16.

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.