Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,207 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 398 shares during the quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,088,206 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $95,534,000 after acquiring an additional 23,978 shares during the last quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 63.6% in the first quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC now owns 3,965 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares in the last quarter. ForthRight Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.9% in the first quarter. ForthRight Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,119 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,617,938 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $229,829,000 after purchasing an additional 67,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 28,959 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 6,503 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of WMT opened at $95.70 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.90 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.01. The firm has a market cap of $765.70 billion, a PE ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

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.