Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Dogwood Wealth Management LLC

Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,316 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whelan Financial increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock worth $13,710,319. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $97.11 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. The firm has a market cap of $774.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $97.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.43. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company 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%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.67.

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.