Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Makes New $3 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 33,144 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,995,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in 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. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $98.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,301,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,814,602. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.44 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $790.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.70. 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 (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James dropped their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.94.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total transaction of $214,214.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,607,751.66. This trade represents a 0.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,857 shares of company stock worth $12,444,743 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.