Dover Advisors LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Dover Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 48.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,401 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 price target (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Walmart Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $94.20 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.30 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.79 and a 200 day moving average of $94.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $751.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.