Heritage Wealth Advisors Decreases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Heritage Wealth Advisors decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 500,583 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 50,838 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 2.2% of Heritage Wealth Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Walmart were worth $45,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $678.95 billion, a PE 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 quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.25.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Equities research analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.