Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 65.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,082 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,159 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.3% of Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $1,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 9,896.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th 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. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in Walmart by 1,707.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $324,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Walmart by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,765,159 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $882,282,000 after purchasing an additional 3,182,477 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3%

Walmart stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.11. 11,165,397 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,124,489. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.56. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $759.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,951 shares of company stock valued at $13,543,436. 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.