Narwhal Capital Management Buys 9,228 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Narwhal Capital Management grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 44.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,119 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 9,228 shares during the quarter. Narwhal Capital Management's holdings in Walmart were worth $2,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $97.88 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $781.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.55 and a 1 year high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business 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 yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.50.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total value of $380,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,060,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $100,997,734.20. This trade represents a 0.38% 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 Walmart 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 152,419 shares of company stock valued at $14,295,650. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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