Maridea Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc., purchasing 8,424 shares valued at approximately $740,000 during the first quarter.
• Walmart reported $165.61 billion in quarterly revenue, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.61, which beat the consensus estimate by $0.03.
• Walmart's dividend payout ratio stands at 40.17%, with a recent dividend of $0.235 paid to stockholders on May 27th.

Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,424 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $740,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 98.2% during the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Lipe & Dalton grew its position in Walmart by 95.2% during the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $380,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,056,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,511,128.70. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $1,248,712.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 932,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,700,258.82. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,912 shares of company stock worth $13,863,813 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $98.14. The stock had a trading volume of 6,625,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,110,559. The company's fifty day moving average is $96.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $783.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

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.