Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX Invests $471,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,109 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of Walmart 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,334 shares of company stock valued at $12,615,864. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of WMT traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $97.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,889,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,799,691. The company has a 50 day moving average of $93.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.16 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $781.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.94.

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.