Renasant Bank Cuts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Renasant Bank lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,532 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.1% of Renasant Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Renasant Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third 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 last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $84.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.56. The firm has a market cap of $677.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last quarter. 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.