Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR Purchases 6,550 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 45.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,050 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 6,550 shares during the quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR's holdings in Walmart were worth $1,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in 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 raised its position in Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,796,129,000 after purchasing an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $83.09 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company's 50 day moving average is $94.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.52. The company has a market cap of $666.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for 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%. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.

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