Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,291 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 13,776 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Walmart were worth $25,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in Walmart by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 36,945 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $259,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.29. The company had a trading volume of 7,686,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,068,909. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.35. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.67 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $784.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.77, for a total value of $166,795.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 650,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,693,090.29. The trade was a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $1,887,041.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,431,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,724,989.77. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.