MV Capital Management Inc. Purchases 1,149 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 59,117 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whelan Financial grew its position in Walmart by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.68.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $97.34 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.90 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $778.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.39, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.06 and a 200 day moving average of $93.99. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.