Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. by 2.4%, now owning 135,321 shares valued at approximately $11.88 million, marking Walmart as its 7th biggest position.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus target price of $106.67 for Walmart, with the majority assigning a buy rating and some increasing price objectives, indicating positive growth expectations.
• Walmart's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.61, beating estimates and reflecting a 2.5% revenue increase from the previous year, alongside a declared dividend of $0.235 with a yield of 0.95%.

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,321 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,230 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 2.9% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after purchasing an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 233,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 28,365,122 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,562,789,000 after buying an additional 368,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $380,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,056,455 shares in the company, valued at $100,511,128.70. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $1,248,712.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 932,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,700,258.82. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,912 shares of company stock valued at $13,863,813 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMT. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $98.09. 7,107,643 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,114,229. The firm has a market capitalization of $782.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company's 50 day moving average is $96.78 and its 200 day moving average is $94.93.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given 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 40.17%.

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.