Chilton Capital Management LLC Buys 378,087 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1,514.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 403,049 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 378,087 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.5% of Chilton Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Chilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $35,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whelan Financial grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the first quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 2,920 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of WMT opened at $98.29 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $97.14 and its 200 day moving average is $94.36. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $784.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares in the company, valued at $61,851,623.92. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Walmart 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.