Sovereign s Capital Management LLC Makes New $488,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,400 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $488,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Walmart by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,532,000 after purchasing an additional 19,233 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in Walmart by 209.7% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $79,960,000 after purchasing an additional 599,257 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Cushing Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,124,000. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $359,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 2.0%

WMT stock opened at $98.26 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.87 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $786.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.94.

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.