Graybill Wealth Management LTD. Invests $1.08 Million in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 12,276 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,078,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after buying an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 630,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,421,282. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,951 shares of company stock worth $13,543,436 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $95.20. The stock had a trading volume of 5,253,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,074,945. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $759.76 billion, a PE ratio of 40.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company's 50 day moving average is $96.89 and its 200-day moving average is $94.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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