Merit Financial Group LLC Has $13.99 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 159,330 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 13,895 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $13,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in 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 bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,106,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,875,561. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $65.64 and a one year high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $795.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued 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 currently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 135,334 shares of company stock valued at $12,615,864. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.