AdvisorNet Financial Inc Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 18.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,476 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,272 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th 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 period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,334 shares of company stock valued at $12,615,864 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 1.5%

Walmart stock opened at $98.57 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $93.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $788.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.90, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.16 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued 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 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.