First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services Sells 2,794 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services reduced its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,963 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,794 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 1.7% of First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services’ holdings in Walmart were worth $4,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 45,859 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,611,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Ashfield Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Ashfield Capital Partners LLC now owns 78,819 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,362,000 after buying an additional 1,929 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 10,776 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Walmart by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 58,616 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,449,000 after acquiring an additional 6,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Doyle Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Doyle Wealth Management now owns 178,833 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. 29.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Credit Suisse Group set a $150.00 target price on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 19th. MKM Partners cut their target price on Walmart from $154.00 to $141.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 16th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $162.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 19th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 25th. Finally, FIX downgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Monday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.11.

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 710,440 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.64, for a total value of $92,811,881.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,748,580 shares in the company, valued at $2,841,234,491.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 289,560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.86, for a total value of $38,181,381.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,215,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $424,060,573.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,035,000 shares of company stock valued at $267,991,487 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 50.43% of the company’s stock.

NYSE WMT traded up $1.05 on Thursday, reaching $140.85. 49,483 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,552,190. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $133.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $396.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.27. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.01 and a fifty-two week high of $153.66.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 18th. The retailer reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.12). Walmart had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The firm had revenue of $152.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 10th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 9th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.62%.

Walmart announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the retailer to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the retail and wholesale operations in various formats worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, discount stores, drugstores, and convenience stores; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com, walmart.com.mx, asda.com, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.

Further Reading: What are trading strategies for the 52-week high/low?