Graham Capital Management L.P. Sells 197,199 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Graham Capital Management L.P. cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 70.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,748 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 197,199 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT traded up $0.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $96.75. 26,756,708 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,882,680. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.44 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $774.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.15, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.