Trajan Wealth LLC Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Trajan Wealth LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 4.3% during the first quarter, holding about $19.44 million worth of shares.
• Several institutional investors made significant adjustments to their positions in Walmart, with Operose Advisors LLC raising their stake by 319.7%.
• Walmart's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.61, beating estimates, and the company declared a dividend of $0.235 per share to be paid in September.

Trajan Wealth LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,441 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 9,229 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.1% of Trajan Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $19,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 425,961,042 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $37,395,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,154 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,922,770,000 after acquiring an additional 7,706,201 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,696,396,000 after acquiring an additional 233,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 29,188,142 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,562,427,000 after acquiring an additional 823,020 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the business'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,080,073 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.68. 17,913,175 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,932,130. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $97.46 and a 200-day moving average of $95.51. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $67.14 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $827.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.31, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.66. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $106.70.

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.