Vista Investment Partners II LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,576 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,532,000 after acquiring an additional 19,233 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in Walmart by 209.7% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares during the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $1,124,000. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $4,658,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total value of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $1,887,041.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,431,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,724,989.77. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,688,803. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $97.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $777.37 billion, a PE ratio of 41.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.67 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (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 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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