Graham Capital Management L.P. Sells 197,199 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Graham Capital Management L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 70.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 83,748 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 197,199 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $314,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Walmart by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,659,454 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $242,167,000 after purchasing an additional 191,548 shares during the last quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC grew its position in Walmart by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Walmart by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,307,352 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $208,469,000 after buying an additional 432,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 157.3% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 95,211 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,602,000 after buying an additional 58,206 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on WMT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.94.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total value of $214,214.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,607,751.66. The trade was a 0.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.19, for a total transaction of $2,743,189.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,480,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,003,883.93. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $96.78 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.44 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $774.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.16, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.91.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Walmart 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.