West Branch Capital LLC Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 73,239 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,324 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 2.1% of West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $94.20 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $95.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.06. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.30 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $751.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

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.