Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Makes New $1.31 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,483 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,309,000. Walmart accounts for about 0.7% of Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE WMT traded up $0.42 during trading on Thursday, hitting $97.66. The stock had a trading volume of 5,378,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,801,118. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $781.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $64.16 and a one year high of $105.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.17.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors 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 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total transaction of $214,214.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,718 shares in the company, valued at $61,607,751.66. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,334 shares of company stock valued at $12,615,864 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.94.

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.