Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Goldstone Financial Group LLC

Goldstone Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,707 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 330 shares during the quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% 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 worth $12,833,664 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.50.

Walmart Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $94.20 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.41 and a 12 month high of $105.30. 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 has a market cap of $751.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $95.79 and a 200-day moving average of $94.08.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. 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%.

About Walmart

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.