Heritage Trust Co Invests $14.45 Million in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Heritage Trust Co purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 159,963 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $14,453,000. Walmart accounts for about 1.7% of Heritage Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $90.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $728.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.70, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.