Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Buys 47,186 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 920,235 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 47,186 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.9% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $80,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock worth $24,532,000 after buying an additional 19,233 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 209.7% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $79,960,000 after acquiring an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $1,124,000. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $359,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.16.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $97.46 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.64 and a 1-year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $94.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.84.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by 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.

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