Goldstone Financial Group LLC Buys 330 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Goldstone Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,707 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 330 shares during the quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 valued at $697,029,000 after acquiring an additional 7,860,306 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $94.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $751.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.41 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business 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%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $49,332,475.50. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.