Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,678 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Whelan Financial grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 630,518 shares in the company, valued at $62,421,282. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $95.70 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $765.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.01. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.90 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) 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. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

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.