Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC Invests $461,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,106 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth 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 period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.57. 29,968,085 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,929,072. The firm has a market cap of $788.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $93.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.36. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.16 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,334 shares of company stock worth $12,615,864. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.94.

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.