Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,327 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Walmart by 9,896.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:WMT opened at $95.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $765.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 50 day simple moving average is $95.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.01. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.90 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 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

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

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.