Quent Long Short Global Small Cap Fund LP Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Quent Long Short Global Small Cap Fund LP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 25,342 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,823,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,199,907,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,413,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,004,277 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 435,652,710 shares of the retailer's stock worth $44,898,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835,200 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $294,621,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,991.9% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,549,719 shares of the retailer's stock worth $249,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427,834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Argus raised shares of Walmart to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $137.79.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $1,214,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 108,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,153,389.24. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,082,852. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,195 shares of company stock worth $20,975,804. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $130.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $125.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.74. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $134.69. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.13%.

Walmart Profile

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.

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