First National Bank of Hutchinson Purchases 12,496 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 73.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,415 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,496 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 1.6% of First National Bank of Hutchinson’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted 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 boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 3.7% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $86.36 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.92. The company has a market cap of $693.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.