Patten & Patten Inc. TN Decreases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 245,526 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,889 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 1.5% of Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Walmart were worth $22,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Facet Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 7,216 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 55,827 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,044,000 after acquiring an additional 3,118 shares during the period. CV Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. CV Advisors LLC now owns 28,868 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,608,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Tumwater Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $293,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 286,529 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,888,000 after acquiring an additional 10,914 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $85.29 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.71. The company has a market cap of $685.19 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.