Haverford Trust Co Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Haverford Trust Co grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,761 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $85.94 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. 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 stock has a market cap of $688.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.12.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.