Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 75,100 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,897 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Walmart were worth $6,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Walmart by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,289,419,000 after buying an additional 6,860,189 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.2%

WMT stock traded up $1.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $97.52. The company had a trading volume of 17,166,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,936,121. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.16 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $780.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.46, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.54 and a 200 day moving average of $93.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total value of $214,214.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,718 shares in the company, valued at $61,607,751.66. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,451,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 177,583 shares of company stock worth $16,701,404. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.