Heritage Trust Co Buys Shares of 159,963 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 159,963 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $14,453,000. Walmart comprises 1.7% of Heritage Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $90.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $728.41 billion, a PE ratio of 37.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.59 and a 200-day moving average of $89.80. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.37.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 over the last 90 days. 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.