RVW Wealth LLC Takes Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• RVW Wealth LLC recently acquired 5,210 shares of Walmart Inc., valued at approximately $457,000, marking a new investment in the retail giant during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds notably increased their holdings in Walmart, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising their stake by nearly 9,897% and owning over 7.9 million shares now worth approximately $697 million.
• Analysts are optimistic about Walmart, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a price target adjustment range between $91 to $120 established by various analyst reports.

RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,210 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth $35,000. Lipe & Dalton raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 95.2% in the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.47 on Friday, hitting $98.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,355,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,052,063. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $785.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.82 and a 200-day moving average of $94.98.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 95.0%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,912 shares of company stock worth $13,863,813. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.