Investors Research Corp Has $1.08 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Investors Research Corp increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 31.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,255 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,930 shares during the quarter. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Walmart by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,532,000 after acquiring an additional 19,233 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 209.7% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $79,960,000 after acquiring an additional 599,257 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Cushing Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $1,124,000. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $359,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.94.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $98.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $788.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.90, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. 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 50-day moving average price of $93.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.36. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.16 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors 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 yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,334 shares of company stock valued at $12,615,864. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.