Alliance Wealth Strategies LLC d b a Brown Edwards Wealth Strategies bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,866 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,102,000. Walmart makes up about 2.0% of Alliance Wealth Strategies LLC d b a Brown Edwards Wealth Strategies' investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.
Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock worth $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock worth $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,298,623 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,153,176,000 after acquiring an additional 634,211 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,268,463 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,810,288,000 after acquiring an additional 934,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,990,692 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,575,541,000 after acquiring an additional 93,459 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $137.79.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Walmart
Walmart Price Performance
NASDAQ WMT opened at $131.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 48.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $125.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.67. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $134.69.
Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Walmart Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.13%.
More Walmart News
Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:
Insider Activity
In related news, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $9,430,445.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at $49,772,492.88. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total transaction of $2,445,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 506,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,962,034.28. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 263,376 shares of company stock worth $32,851,650. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.
Walmart Profile
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Free Report)
Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.
The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.
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