Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by STAR Financial Bank

STAR Financial Bank grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,409 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the quarter. STAR Financial Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 142,695 shares of company stock worth $13,710,162. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price target (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $95.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.81 and a 200 day moving average of $94.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $758.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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