Argent Trust Co Sells 6,285 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Argent Trust Co cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 481,598 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,285 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 1.8% of Argent Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $43,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after buying an additional 6,860,189 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,707.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $324,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.60.

Walmart Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $1.27 on Thursday, reaching $90.87. 2,784,152 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,450,356. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.73. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $728.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’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 transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.