Copley Financial Group Inc. Acquires 3,201 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Copley Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 85.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,948 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,201 shares during the quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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 report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.94.

Walmart Trading Down 0.4%

Walmart stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.23. 11,099,384 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,850,144. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $92.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.15. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.16 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $777.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 177,583 shares of company stock valued at $16,701,404. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Walmart

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.