Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $2.71 Billion Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 1.3% during the first quarter, owning approximately $2.71 billion worth of Walmart shares, making it the firm's 13th largest investment.
• Multiple hedge funds have also expanded their positions in Walmart, with gains ranging from 13.9% to 84.3% in the same quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the retail giant.
• Walmart's most recent quarterly earnings revealed a net income miss with earnings per share of $0.68, falling short of the expected $0.74, despite a revenue increase of 4.8% year-over-year.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,874,987 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 387,424 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 0.7% of Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.39% of Walmart worth $2,710,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norinchukin Bank The grew its position in Walmart by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 226,044 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,844,000 after purchasing an additional 27,633 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 84.3% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 86,706 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,608,000 after purchasing an additional 39,668 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC grew its position in Walmart by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 221,310 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,429,000 after purchasing an additional 28,230 shares during the period. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC grew its position in Walmart by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Walmart by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 18,394 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,489 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $1,248,712.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 932,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,700,258.82. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,655 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.38, for a total value of $166,128.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 647,578 shares in the company, valued at $65,003,879.64. This represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 84,841 shares of company stock worth $8,161,365 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $109.89.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE WMT opened at $102.3860 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $817.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.75, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $74.59 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business's fifty day moving average is $97.88 and its 200-day moving average is $95.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Walmart Company 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.

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