Crescent Sterling Ltd. Has $1.47 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Crescent Sterling Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 47.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,775 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 1.5% of Crescent Sterling Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Crescent Sterling Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of WMT opened at $97.45 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.90 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.97.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho raised their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.68.

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.