Heartland Bank & Trust Co Sells 529 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,986 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 529 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.2% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $223,000. Mariner Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $904,000. CKW Financial Group raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 6,357 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Curran Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Curran Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,425 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $97.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $782.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.51 and a 52 week high of $97.84.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WMT. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

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.