Vestor Capital LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vestor Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 53.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 93,719 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 32,737 shares during the quarter. Vestor Capital LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $8,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:WMT traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $87.04. The company had a trading volume of 6,554,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,924,119. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $697.79 billion, a PE ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Remove Ads

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Walmart's payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WMT. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.17.

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.