Point72 Hong Kong Ltd Takes $8.30 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 91,878 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $8,301,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.94.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $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 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743 in the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT traded up $1.91 on Friday, reaching $98.26. 33,699,272 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,891,942. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.63 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $786.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $91.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

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.