Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Buys 5,425 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 11.4%, acquiring an additional 5,425 shares, bringing their total holdings to 53,024 shares valued at $4,655,000.
• Walmart reported quarterly earnings of $0.61 EPS, surpassing analysts' estimates and achieving a revenue of $165.61 billion.
• Insider selling activity included CEO C Douglas Mcmillon and EVP Kathryn J. Mclay, who collectively sold over 57,000 shares of Walmart stock in recent transactions.

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,024 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,425 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $4,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 98.2% during the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Lipe & Dalton grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 95.2% in the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,451,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,252,135. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 126,696 shares of company stock valued at $12,222,245 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9%

Walmart stock opened at $97.45 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.86. The company has a market cap of $777.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.67 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.

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