First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 117,508 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 5,969 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $10,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.16.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total value of $166,883.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:WMT opened at $97.46 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.90 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The business's 50-day moving average is $94.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.92.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's payout ratio is 40.17%.

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.

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