TCTC Holdings LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 268,928 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $24,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $231,000. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC increased its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC now owns 177,552 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,337,000 after buying an additional 3,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 15,518 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $85.29 on Monday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.80. The stock has a market cap of $685.19 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

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.