Investment Planning Advisors Inc. Has $314,000 Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Investment Planning Advisors Inc. increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 61.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,580 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,356 shares during the period. Investment Planning Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Up 1.8%

WMT opened at $97.88 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $781.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.55 and a one year high of $105.30.

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 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. 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. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,419 shares of company stock worth $14,295,650. 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.