Dark Forest Capital Management LP Sells 8,503 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 74.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,908 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 8,503 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Walmart were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 169,657 shares of company stock worth $15,984,929. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup restated a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,593,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,837,299. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.05. 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 stock has a market cap of $777.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.34, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.58 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Walmart Company 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.