Heritage Wealth Advisors Lowers Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Heritage Wealth Advisors reduced its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 500,583 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 50,838 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 2.2% of Heritage Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Walmart were worth $45,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,306,627,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,860,189 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Walmart by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were 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. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 3.2 %

WMT opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.25. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $678.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.