Heritage Investors Management Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Heritage Investors Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 531,026 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 7,279 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.5% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $47,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $96.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.20 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $772.10 billion, a PE ratio of 39.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.