Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Field & Main Bank

Field & Main Bank increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,265 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 210 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 2.7% of Field & Main Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Field & Main Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after acquiring an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,852,277,000 after acquiring an additional 426,388 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,698,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,729 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,765,278 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,361,411,000 after buying an additional 562,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,011,647 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,081,120,000 after buying an additional 78,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Europe increased their price target on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Down 1.5 %

WMT stock opened at $59.32 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.34 and a fifty-two week high of $61.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.99 and a 200-day moving average of $55.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $478.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,565,756.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 530,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,565,756.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551 in the last quarter. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.