Edge Financial Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Edge Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,056 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Edge Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $697,029,000 after buying an additional 7,860,306 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $94.24 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $752.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.55 and a 52-week high of $105.30. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,294 shares of company stock worth $12,656,659 in the last three months. Corporate 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.