Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Community Trust & Investment Co.

Community Trust & Investment Co. cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,152 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 28,541 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 1.7% of Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $18,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 112.0% during the third quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lipe & Dalton bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 282 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. 31.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $139.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.10. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.27 and a fifty-two week high of $160.77. The company has a market capitalization of $375.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.20. Walmart had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 20.45%. The firm had revenue of $164.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $158.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 7th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Tigress Financial upgraded Walmart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Credit Suisse Group set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Walmart from $161.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Friday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 563,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.26, for a total value of $80,194,380.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 264,873,644 shares in the company, valued at $37,680,924,595.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 157,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.00, for a total transaction of $21,722,028.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 260,926,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,007,918,134. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 563,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.26, for a total value of $80,194,380.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 264,873,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,680,924,595.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,830,325 shares of company stock worth $1,378,798,478. 47.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Profile

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Walmart, Inc engages in retail and wholesale business. The company offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices. It operates through the following business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U.S. segment operates as a merchandiser of consumer products, operating under the Walmart, Wal-Mart, and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands, as well as walmart.com and other eCommerce brands.