Foster Group Inc. Has $1.81 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

by · The Markets Daily

Foster Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,589 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,808,000 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 company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $252,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $10,645,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.16.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Walmart

Walmart Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $97.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $782.64 billion, a PE ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.64 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $94.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.76. 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 – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 in the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

(Free Report)

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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