Hills Bank & Trust Co Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hills Bank & Trust Co cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,015 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

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

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $85.29 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.74 and a 200-day moving average of $88.71. The company has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.