DeDora Capital Inc. Has $1.50 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

DeDora Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 224.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,979 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,272 shares during the period. DeDora Capital Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after purchasing an additional 751,713 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,852,277,000 after buying an additional 426,388 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,190,194,000 after buying an additional 2,150,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,698,519,000 after buying an additional 1,317,729 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 $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $59.82. 14,207,397 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,769,110. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.06 and its 200-day moving average is $55.99. The stock has a market cap of $482.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 43.38%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Europe boosted their price target on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

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.