SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 228.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,201 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 21,007 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $97.46 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.90 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $779.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 630,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.16.

Walmart Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.