BankPlus Trust Department Makes New $2.08 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,007 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.3% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the third quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 24,300 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.5% in the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 28,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWC Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $642,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.43.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $94.70 on Monday. 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 1-year low of $57.77 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.63 and its 200-day moving average is $86.71. The stock has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.