Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Has $3.92 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 27.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,199 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,936 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $3,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Genus Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 168.2% during the 1st quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,562 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,473,000 after acquiring an additional 97,539 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,990,710 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $262,453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,345 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 7,360 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,380 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC now owns 6,085 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of WMT traded down $0.50 on Friday, reaching $94.36. 14,577,628 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,111,476. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $753.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.49. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.67 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 owned 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 630,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,421,282. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.