Crane Advisory LLC Acquires New Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Crane Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,315 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whelan Financial lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $94.20 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.79 and a 200 day moving average of $94.09. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.41 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $751.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, 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 current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group cut their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 630,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company 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.