Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 43.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,004 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,452 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,696,396,000 after acquiring an additional 233,040 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 28,365,122 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,562,789,000 after acquiring an additional 368,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 25,917,346 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,341,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,413 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,078,027. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $98.37 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $785.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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 net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.67.

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.