US Bancorp DE Decreases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

US Bancorp DE trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,235,457 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 89,801 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.7% of US Bancorp DE’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. US Bancorp DE owned about 0.08% of Walmart worth $563,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $98.65 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.20 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $792.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $95.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.44. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 188,777 shares of company stock worth $17,934,726. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.