J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 24.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 169,400 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 33,491 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Lipe & Dalton increased its holdings in Walmart by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WMT. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total transaction of $380,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,060,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,997,734.20. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $1,887,041.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,431,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,724,989.77. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 142,695 shares of company stock worth $13,710,162 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $95.01. 14,622,243 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,156,813. The company's 50-day moving average price is $96.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.65. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $758.22 billion, a PE ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.68.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.