Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 17.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,856 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,662 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,696,396,000 after acquiring an additional 233,040 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $96.62 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $96.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $771.05 billion, a PE ratio of 41.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. 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 company posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at $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 quarter, insiders sold 126,696 shares of company stock worth $12,222,245. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.