Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 3,282 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,978 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $3,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at $49,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.50.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $1.39 on Friday, hitting $97.41. 31,424,295 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,041,297. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.67 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $777.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $96.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.24. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $374,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,096,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,518,542.50. The trade was a 0.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,688,803. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.