Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Has $4.40 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 50,106 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $252,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,283,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,645,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 135,294 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,659. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WMT opened at $94.24 on Wednesday. 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 52-week low of $66.55 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $752.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s fifty day moving average is $96.13 and its 200-day moving average is $94.11.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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