Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Position Lifted by Kercheville Advisors LLC

Kercheville Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,557 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,227 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.7% of Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AA Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 10.4% during the first quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,060 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $584,000. Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,898,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Walmart by 10.2% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 20,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.1% in the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 16,805 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $94.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $752.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.12, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.41 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value 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 $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

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.