Courier Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Courier Capital LLC increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,398 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 306,424 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,901,000 after buying an additional 14,398 shares during the last quarter. Sherman Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Sherman Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,743 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 17,894 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 138,731 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,179,000 after buying an additional 10,329 shares during the period. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust raised its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the first quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust now owns 6,981 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on WMT shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the 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 directly owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of WMT opened at $97.46 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.90 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $94.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.92.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

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.