Bessemer Group Inc. Has $473.16 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its Walmart stake by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 801,898 shares and leaving it with 4,246,976 shares worth about $473.2 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Walmart, with analysts such as Bank of America, Evercore, and BTIG maintaining or raising buy/outperform ratings and a consensus target price of $138.67.
• Walmart posted a strong latest quarter, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend and seeing continued insider selling under pre-arranged trading plans.

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,246,976 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 801,898 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 0.7% of Bessemer Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.05% of Walmart worth $473,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS and other analysts expect Walmart to post a strong Q1, with sales growth and profit trends likely supporting another earnings beat. Walmart to Post Strong Q1, Extending Retail Lead on Sales Growth, UBS Says
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s earnings history and current setup suggest it could exceed expectations again, which is supporting bullish sentiment into the report. Walmart (WMT) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week's Release
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart continues to attract bullish technical and style-score commentary, with multiple outlets calling it a long-term momentum name. Why Walmart (WMT) is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that grocery and restaurant prices are rising may support Walmart’s value proposition and traffic, since consumers often trade down to lower-cost retailers during inflationary periods. Grocery and Restaurant Prices Post Biggest Jump Since 2022
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is cutting or relocating about 1,000 corporate jobs as part of a broader restructuring and tech-focused operating simplification. The move could improve efficiency over time, but it also signals ongoing internal change. Walmart cutting or relocating about 1,000 corporate jobs
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted continued restructuring and AI/technology investment, which may help long-term competitiveness but does not change the near-term earnings outlook by itself. Walmart Cuts Hundreds Of Corporate Jobs As AI-Driven Efficiency Push Accelerates: Report

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.21, for a total value of $2,566,989.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,193,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $554,488,078.95. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.72, for a total transaction of $361,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 596,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,334,117.76. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 167,195 shares of company stock worth $20,975,804 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.8%

WMT opened at $132.46 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $126.30 and its 200-day moving average is $119.06. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $134.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $1.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 48.34, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.13%.

Walmart Profile

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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