West Branch Capital LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 73,239 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,324 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 2.1% of West Branch Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Walmart Stock Down 0.7%

Walmart stock opened at $94.20 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.30 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $751.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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