Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,143,770 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 24,139 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 0.7% of Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $241,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $1,709,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 24.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $121,168,000 after purchasing an additional 229,220 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in Walmart by 16.6% in the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 2.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,010,886 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $104,182,000 after purchasing an additional 28,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Walmart by 5.2% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 293,866 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $30,286,000 after purchasing an additional 14,487 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.
Walmart Price Performance
Walmart stock opened at $127.50 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.34 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 46.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $125.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79.
Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Walmart Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart's payout ratio is 36.13%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $137.64.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Walmart
Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart
In related news, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,772,492.88. The trade was a 15.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total transaction of $1,600,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 263,376 shares of company stock valued at $32,598,466 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Key Stories Impacting Walmart
Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:
Walmart Company Profile
(
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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