Teza Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 32,863 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 32,863 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,969,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,325 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,565,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. Certified Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 24,084 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 39,038 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,527,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Constitution Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 94,116 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.81. The company had a trading volume of 15,595,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,857,218. The business has a 50 day moving average of $91.45 and a 200 day moving average of $92.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $782.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.16 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Walmart's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.94.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 134,035 shares of company stock worth $12,445,082. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company 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.