Community Trust & Investment Co. Sells 28,541 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Community Trust & Investment Co. lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,152 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 28,541 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 1.7% of Community Trust & Investment Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $18,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. AMI Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,269 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 36.8% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 4,820 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 31.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,162 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 123.9% in the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 5,847 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 857,839 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $127,749,000 after acquiring an additional 13,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 31.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $159.00 price objective for the company. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. UBS Group set a $168.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Tigress Financial upgraded Walmart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $170.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $170.00 target price on Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.44.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.81, for a total transaction of $633,543.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 255,059 shares in the company, valued at $36,935,093.79. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.82, for a total value of $1,396,204.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,458,924 shares in the company, valued at $209,822,449.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.81, for a total value of $633,543.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 255,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,935,093.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,830,325 shares of company stock worth $1,378,798,478. Insiders own 47.06% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $139.40 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $142.27 and its 200-day moving average is $141.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.93 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.48. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $117.27 and a 52 week high of $160.77.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $164.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $158.67 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 20.45% and a net margin of 1.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 7th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 53.27%.

Walmart Company Profile

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Walmart, Inc engages in retail and wholesale business. The company offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices. It operates through the following business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U.S. segment operates as a merchandiser of consumer products, operating under the Walmart, Wal-Mart, and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands, as well as walmart.com and other eCommerce brands.