Trust Co. of Vermont Has $15.69 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 173,702 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Walmart were worth $15,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its stake in Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.8 %

WMT stock opened at $92.02 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $91.15 and a 200-day moving average of $81.27. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.44 and a fifty-two week high of $96.18. The company has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.49.

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.