Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Takes Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,721 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $517,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th 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 grew its stake in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.94.

Walmart Stock Up 2.0%

WMT opened at $98.26 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $91.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $63.63 and a one year high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $786.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. 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 will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total value of $214,214.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 632,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,607,751.66. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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