Walmart (WMT) Stake Boosted by Mitchell Capital Management Co.

Mitchell Capital Management Co. increased its holdings in Walmart (NYSE:WMT) by 107.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,386 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,390 shares during the period. Mitchell Capital Management Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 955.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,668,539 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,019,000 after acquiring an additional 4,226,117 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,706,981 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $859,814,000 after purchasing an additional 2,637,516 shares during the period. Thomaspartners Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at $229,117,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Walmart by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,622,473 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $160,219,000 after purchasing an additional 693,899 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 3,963,476 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $391,393,000 after purchasing an additional 672,033 shares during the period. 30.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Walmart opened at $83.64 on Friday, according to Marketbeat Ratings. Walmart has a twelve month low of $73.13 and a twelve month high of $109.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $255.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 17th. The retailer reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 1.97%. The business had revenue of $122.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. analysts predict that Walmart will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 7th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 6th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Walmart to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. ValuEngine raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Vetr raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.28 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 21st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.56.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the retail and wholesale operations in various formats 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, discount stores, drugstores, and convenience stores; membership-only warehouse clubs; e-commerce Websites, such as walmart.com, jet.com, hayneedle.com, shoes.com, moosejaw.com, modcloth.com, bonobos.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce and voice-activated commerce applications.

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