First American Trust FSB Purchases 3,159 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First American Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 199,329 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,159 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.8% of First American Trust FSB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. First American Trust FSB’s holdings in Walmart were worth $18,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $87.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $701.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $95.12 and its 200 day moving average is $89.19. 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 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

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.