Sentinus LLC Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sentinus LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,818 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the quarter. Sentinus LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,532,000 after buying an additional 19,233 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 209.7% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares in the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $1,124,000. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $359,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of WMT opened at $98.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $786.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.63 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.94.

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.