Advantage Trust Co Sells 1,200 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Advantage Trust Co lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,268 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.4% of Advantage Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Advantage Trust Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. X Square Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.1% in the third quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 34,460 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,082,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 101,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,156,000 after buying an additional 10,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,430 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. 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 $57.77 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $95.63 and a 200-day moving average of $86.44.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research 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 paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.