Sard Wealth Management Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sard Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 10.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,294 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Sard Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,421,282. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $97.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $779.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $94.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.84. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $65.64 and a one year high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Walmart in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.16.

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.