Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. Makes New $1.32 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,644 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,323,000. Walmart makes up about 2.0% of Lakeshore Capital Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Whelan Financial boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer's stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.94.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $97.64. 4,574,275 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,798,209. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.16 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $93.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.17. 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 company has a market cap of $781.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

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 the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid 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 presently 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 135,334 shares of company stock valued at $12,615,864. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.