Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,353 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,064 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.1% of Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% in 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. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 approximately $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.29. 7,686,204 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,068,909. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business's fifty day moving average is $97.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.35. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $784.40 billion, a PE ratio of 39.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's 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.