Alta Advisers Ltd Acquires 7,000 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Alta Advisers Ltd grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 48.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,513 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.8% of Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings in Walmart were worth $1,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Walmart by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock worth $24,532,000 after acquiring an additional 19,233 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in Walmart by 209.7% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer's stock worth $79,960,000 after purchasing an additional 599,257 shares during the period. Cushing Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,124,000. GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,658,000. Finally, Full Sail Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.29. 7,686,204 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,082,978. The firm has a market capitalization of $784.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.33. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,851,623.92. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total transaction of $380,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,060,455 shares in the company, valued at $100,997,734.20. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

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.