GAMMA Investing LLC Has $697.03 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 9,896.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.10% of Walmart worth $697,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.94.

Walmart Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of WMT traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.57. 29,968,085 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,929,072. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $788.65 billion, a PE ratio of 40.90, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50 day moving average is $93.46 and its 200-day moving average is $93.36. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.16 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,334 shares of company stock worth $12,615,864 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.