Hofer & Associates. Inc Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hofer & Associates. Inc lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,338 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Hofer & Associates. Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.8%

Walmart stock opened at $97.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.55 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $781.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.83, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.15.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,419 shares of company stock valued at $14,295,650 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

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.