Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Buys 13,699 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its Walmart stake by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 13,699 shares and bringing its total holding to 520,544 shares worth about $58.0 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish, with multiple firms raising price targets and maintaining buy ratings; the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target of $138.88.
• Walmart recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $0.74 on revenue of $190.66 billion, and the company also highlighted a quarterly dividend yielding about 0.7%.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 520,544 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 13,699 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $57,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,416,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,931,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.88.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been raising price targets and reiterating bullish ratings on Walmart ahead of earnings, reflecting confidence in the company’s execution and near-term outlook. Walmart stock: Here’s why analysts are raising price targets before Q1 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is benefiting from its scale, digital expansion, and higher-margin businesses, which are helping it outperform rivals and absorb tariff-related cost pressure better than peers. Scale, online push and loyalty fees: how Walmart won the year of the tariffs
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expected to deliver solid Q1 results, with investors watching for continued omnichannel momentum, e-commerce growth, and gains in ads and membership revenue. Walmart Looks Strong Ahead of Q1 Earnings: Should Investors Stay Put?
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s push into AI and automation could support margins over time by improving fulfillment efficiency and lowering operating costs. Walmart's AI and Automation Push: Long-Term Cost Advantage?
• Neutral Sentiment: One small insider sale by EVP Daniel Bartlett is a headline risk, but it was a pre-arranged 10b5-1 transaction and does not appear to signal a major change in outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader retail comparisons and market worries around consumer spending and geopolitics may create short-term volatility, but they also reinforce Walmart’s defensive appeal. NVDA, WMT Report This Week, but News on the Strait Is Key

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $134.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.68. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.43 and a 52-week high of $135.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 48.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Walmart'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. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 36.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total value of $2,555,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 486,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,203,571.56. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $1,214,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 108,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,153,389.24. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 167,190 shares of company stock worth $20,975,838 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.