Farther Finance Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 82.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 229,311 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 103,423 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.5% of Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $20,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in 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 boosted its holdings 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 valued at $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

Walmart stock opened at $97.46 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.71 and a 200 day moving average of $93.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.90 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given 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 is currently 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 630,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,421,282. This represents a 0.35% 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.16.

About Walmart

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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