Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC Makes New $243,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC has made a new investment of approximately $243,000 in Walmart, acquiring 2,772 shares during the first quarter.
• The recent performance of Walmart's stock includes a market cap of $777.72 billion and a reported EPS of $0.61 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Walmart has declared a dividend of $0.235 per share, reflecting a yield of 0.95%, with a payout ratio of 40.17%.

Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,772 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 valued at $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,696,396,000 after acquiring an additional 233,040 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 28,365,122 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,562,789,000 after acquiring an additional 368,711 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $98.14. The stock had a trading volume of 6,625,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,110,559. The company has a market capitalization of $783.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.95, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.93.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The company's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,744 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total transaction of $166,726.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 649,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,066,674.80. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $380,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,056,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,511,128.70. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 143,912 shares of company stock worth $13,863,813. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

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.