Hilltop National Bank Trims Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hilltop National Bank trimmed its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,647 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 445 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 119,625 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,100,000 after purchasing an additional 3,556 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,901,459 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $196,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,943 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in Walmart by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 39,517 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,676,000 after buying an additional 9,347 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in Walmart by 4.0% during the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 856,406 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $57,987,000 after purchasing an additional 32,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $217,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.08.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.71. 6,716,752 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,841,860. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $744.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.39 and a one year high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

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.