FineMark National Bank & Trust Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

FineMark National Bank & Trust lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,286 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 285 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Walmart were worth $15,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Motco increased its stake in Walmart by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 58,301 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,191,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 78,345 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,351,000 after acquiring an additional 15,448 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $2,340,000. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 32.5% in the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,117,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $338,602,000 after acquiring an additional 518,896 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $64.71. The company had a trading volume of 10,180,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,701,725. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $521.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.34 and a 12-month high of $65.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.71.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. Walmart’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $29,195,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 653,067,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,132,597,369.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $29,195,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 653,067,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,132,597,369.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,687,515.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,733,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,237,280,394. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.