Whittier Trust Co. Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,697 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,655 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $24,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

Walmart stock opened at $86.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $693.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.92.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial raised their target price 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.