First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 14,763 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.1% 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 456,433 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14,763 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.2% of First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $41,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.43.

Walmart Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.77 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.57.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm 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, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.44%.

About Walmart

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.