Foster Group Inc. Has $1.81 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Foster Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,589 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 478 shares during the quarter. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Walmart by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho began coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.16.

Walmart Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $97.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $782.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.53 and its 200 day moving average is $93.76. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.64 and a 52 week high of $105.30. 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 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. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. 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. 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.