CoreFirst Bank & Trust Invests $2.37 Million in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,206 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,368,000. Walmart accounts for about 1.4% of CoreFirst Bank & Trust's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $431,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18,644 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $336,000. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 13,361 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,079,000 after buying an additional 5,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Walmart by 26.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38,525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 8,077 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.41 during trading on Thursday, reaching $85.62. The stock had a trading volume of 16,763,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,064,120. The stock's 50 day moving average is $94.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.20. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $686.37 billion, a PE ratio of 35.53, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.17.

About Walmart

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.