Good Life Advisors LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,175 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE WMT opened at $94.20 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.41 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.09. 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 stock has a market cap of $751.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is currently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $217,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 over the last quarter. 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.