Dark Forest Capital Management LP Reduces Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 74.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,908 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,503 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 169,657 shares of company stock worth $15,984,929. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

WMT opened at $95.16 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $90.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.02. The company has a market capitalization of $762.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.49, 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 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.58.

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.