Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 26.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,982 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 32,970 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.7% of Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $13,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,645,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,334 shares of company stock worth $12,615,864 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.94.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.01. The company had a trading volume of 15,547,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,877,229. The company's 50-day moving average price is $93.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.58. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $65.16 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $800.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.50, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.235 dividend. 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%.

Walmart 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.