FineMark National Bank & Trust Decreases Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

FineMark National Bank & Trust decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 258,764 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 7,589 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 0.8% of FineMark National Bank & Trust's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. FineMark National Bank & Trust's holdings in Walmart were worth $23,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.41 on Thursday, reaching $85.62. The stock had a trading volume of 7,691,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,022,532. The business's 50 day moving average is $94.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $686.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.