7,288 Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Purchased by MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc.

Key Points

• MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. invested approximately $640,000 in Walmart Inc., acquiring 7,288 shares, making it the firm's 17th largest position.
• Several analysts have recently rated Walmart, with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67, reflecting positive sentiment about the company's future performance.
• Insiders have sold significant amounts of Walmart shares recently, with EVP John D. Rainey and EVP John R. Furner selling 2,200 and 13,125 shares respectively, which may indicate changes in management confidence.

MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,288 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $640,000. Walmart comprises 0.6% of MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whelan Financial grew its stake in Walmart by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 25,915 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,275,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 2,920 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,912 shares of company stock valued at $13,863,813 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $98.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,107,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,114,229. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $782.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $96.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

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.