Valley National Advisers Inc. Purchases 364 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

by · The Markets Daily

Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,027 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $97.41 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $777.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.63, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $96.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

View Our Latest Report on WMT

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,688,803. 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.

Further Reading

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