Pettee Investors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Pettee Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,385 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.8% of Pettee Investors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Pettee Investors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 4.9% in the first quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 13,346 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 129,357 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,356,000 after acquiring an additional 5,178 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 35,060 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,902 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the first quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 515,890 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $45,290,000 after buying an additional 5,811 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,951 shares of company stock valued at $13,543,436. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3%

WMT opened at $95.11 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $96.89 and a 200-day moving average of $94.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $759.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.67.

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.