Court Place Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Court Place Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,756 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whelan Financial lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the first quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 2,920 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $97.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $774.98 billion, a PE ratio of 41.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $97.24 and its 200-day moving average is $94.43.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.67.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at $90,619,848.90. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total value of $380,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,060,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,997,734.20. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.