Trexquant Investment LP Purchases 433,983 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 710.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 495,085 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 433,983 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 0.5% of Trexquant Investment LP's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Walmart were worth $44,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock worth $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $270,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $538,000. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY lifted its stake in Walmart by 11.8% in the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 9,251 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 980 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $17,403,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.17.

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Walmart Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.91 on Tuesday, reaching $88.70. 22,070,021 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,996,645. The company has a market capitalization of $711.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.81, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.45 and a 200 day moving average of $89.51.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,652 shares of company stock valued at $16,590,028 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.