Roberts Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Roberts Capital Advisors LLC acquired 10,075 shares of Walmart Inc., valued at approximately $884,000, indicating increased institutional interest in the retailer.
• Company insiders, including EVP Kathryn J. Mclay and CEO C. Douglas McMillon, sold significant amounts of stock, with total insider sales over the last quarter amounting to approximately $13.9 million.
• Analysts remain generally optimistic on Walmart, with multiple firms adjusting their price targets upward, indicating a consensus average target of $107.47 for the stock.

Roberts Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,075 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $884,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 36,945 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Bank raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 70.9% during the 4th quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 310,761 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $28,077,000 after buying an additional 128,893 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,334 shares of company stock valued at $13,913,350. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WMT. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.47.

Walmart Trading Down 0.9%

Walmart stock opened at $99.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.52 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $797.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.60 and a 200 day moving average of $95.59.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

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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