Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. Acquires New Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 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 portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,583 shares of company stock valued at $16,701,404 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.94.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.52. 17,168,296 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,858,663. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.16 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $780.25 billion, a PE ratio of 40.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.12.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is 40.17%.

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.