Hoey Investments Inc. Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 60,570 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,741 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 1.0% of Hoey Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Hoey Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $697,029,000 after buying an additional 7,860,306 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 note on Wednesday, April 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total value of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.

Walmart Stock Down 0.7%

WMT opened at $94.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $751.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.30 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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