Mainsail Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Mainsail Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,207 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 665 shares during the quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total value of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% 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 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.68.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1%

WMT opened at $97.34 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $95.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $778.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.39, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $65.90 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

About Walmart

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.