Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. Has $2.33 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,578 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 378 shares during the quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Whelan Financial boosted its position in Walmart by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,421,282. The trade was a 0.35% 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, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% 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 valued at $12,833,664 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.16.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $97.46 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $94.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.92. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.90 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 presently 40.17%.

Walmart 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.