Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Ewa LLC

Ewa LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,962 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the quarter. Ewa LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kepos Capital LP purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $40,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at $29,565,756.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551 over the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $59.32 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $478.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.99 and a 200-day moving average of $55.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.34 and a 1-year high of $61.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stifel Europe lifted their price objective on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

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.