Choreo LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Choreo LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,244 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,702 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kepos Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $60.24 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.34 and a 1-year high of $61.65. The company has a market cap of $485.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 104,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $241,239,559.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Company 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.