Noble Wealth Management PBC Acquires 3,200 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Noble Wealth Management PBC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 776.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,612 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC's holdings in Walmart were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock worth $24,532,000 after acquiring an additional 19,233 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in Walmart by 209.7% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,292 shares in the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $1,124,000. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $359,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.50.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT traded down $0.57 on Friday, hitting $94.26. 11,452,189 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,869,757. The firm has a market capitalization of $754.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.95 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on 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 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 have sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart 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.