Voleon Capital Management LP Purchases New Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 124,188 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $11,220,000. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.8% of Voleon Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $541,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 4.2% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 10.9% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $504,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $374,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,096,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,518,542.50. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 169,657 shares of company stock valued at $15,984,929. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:WMT traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $97.44. 13,150,271 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,842,666. 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 firm has a market cap of $779.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.43, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.58 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.10.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.