Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,394 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,642 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $5,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WMT. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on 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 target on shares of Walmart in a research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7%

WMT stock traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $98.29. The company had a trading volume of 7,686,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,082,978. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $97.07 and a 200 day moving average of $94.33. The company has a market cap of $784.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.00, a PEG ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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. 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 was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's payout ratio is 40.17%.

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.