Fermata Advisors LLC Purchases 2,208 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 18.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,191 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $10,645,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James cut their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.16.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $62,421,282. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $99.39 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.64 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $795.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $94.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.67. 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 announced 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%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 issued 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 (DPR) is 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.