Lipe & Dalton Has $36,000 Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Lipe & Dalton increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 95.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 410 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Lipe & Dalton’s holdings in Walmart were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after buying an additional 514,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.27 on Friday, reaching $95.36. The company had a trading volume of 2,790,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,055,388. The stock has a market capitalization of $761.02 billion, a PE ratio of 40.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.68. 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 one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $96.85 and its 200 day moving average is $94.59.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given 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 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total transaction of $380,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,060,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,997,734.20. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $166,726.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 649,233 shares in the company, valued at $62,066,674.80. This represents a 0.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 142,695 shares of company stock worth $13,710,162. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.