Sweeney & Michel LLC Buys Shares of 7,795 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sweeney & Michel LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 7,795 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Whelan Financial grew its position in Walmart by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,334 shares of company stock worth $12,615,864. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of WMT opened at $98.57 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.16 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $788.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.47.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS 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 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm 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 was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.94.

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.