Kercheville Advisors LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Kercheville Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 48,557 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,227 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.7% of Kercheville Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $252,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,645,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of Walmart 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 directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price target (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $94.28 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.04 and its 200-day moving average is $94.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $752.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.41 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

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.