Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Buys 3,979 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,508 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,979 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in 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 period. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Walmart by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.39. The company had a trading volume of 11,106,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,887,949. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.63. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.64 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $795.21 billion, a PE ratio of 41.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp upped 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. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.16.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total value of $166,883.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,334 shares of company stock worth $12,615,864. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.