First American Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First American Bank lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 178,599 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 1.1% of First American Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. First American Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $96.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.20 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.