Sierra Ocean LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sierra Ocean LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,227 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bolthouse Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 16.2% during the first quarter. Bolthouse Investments LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.8% in the first quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 81,211 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,130,000 after purchasing an additional 5,880 shares during the period. One Day In July LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 10.2% in the first quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 7,622 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 2.4% in the first quarter. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 44,449 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,902,000 after buying an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whelan Financial increased its position in shares of Walmart by 17.7% during the first quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 5,107 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $98.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $784.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. 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 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.36.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid 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 presently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% 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 Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.67.

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.