Directional Asset Management Acquires Shares of 51,348 Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Directional Asset Management acquired a new stake of 51,348 shares in Walmart valued at about $5.72 million, making WMT roughly 5.0% of its portfolio and the fund's fourth-largest holding.
• Walmart beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.74 vs. $0.73; revenue $190.66B vs. $188.37B) and set FY2027 EPS guidance of 2.750–2.850, supporting the company's underlying sales and margin resilience.
• Insiders have sold sizeable stock recently (about 263,376 shares worth ~$32.85M over three months), and while analysts' consensus remains a "Buy" with an average target of $137.79, concerns persist over valuation (high P/E) and heavy capex weighing on free cash flow.

Directional Asset Management acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 51,348 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,721,000. Walmart comprises about 5.0% of Directional Asset Management's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 212.6% during the 3rd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $129.92 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 47.42, a PEG ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $125.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.92. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. 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 forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total transaction of $1,600,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 263,376 shares of company stock worth $32,851,650 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $137.79.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company released its 2026 Annual Report highlighting investments in associates and AI tools aimed at improving customer experience, operations and productivity — messaging that supports longer-term growth prospects. Walmart Touts People and AI in Annual Report
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat revenue and EPS expectations and management set FY27 EPS guidance, showing underlying sales and margins resilience — a supportive signal for fundamentals. WMT MarketBeat summary
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $140, and the consensus analyst rating remains a "Buy" — these represent catalyst potential if upgrades continue. Morgan Stanley Increases Walmart Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic initiatives that could drive sales mix and margins: a major redesign of the Great Value private label (10,000 items) and expansion of health offerings via Better Care Services. Those moves support SKU refresh and higher-margin services. Is Walmart One of the Best Performing Dow Stocks?
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is diversifying beyond retail (new Upstream Facility Services maintenance unit) — a long-term revenue diversification that is unlikely to move near-term earnings materially. Walmart Diversifies Beyond Retail Into Maintenance Services
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting is effectively meaningless in the latest print (reported as zero), so short-covering dynamics are not a current driver. Short Interest Data
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cash-flow concerns: several commentary pieces argue WMT is expensive (high P/E) given slowing growth and heavy capital expenditure that suppresses free cash flow — these critiques are the most likely reason traders are taking profits after recent gains. Walmart: Too Expensive Considering Slowing Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Another analysis highlights that large capex to support technology and store initiatives is weighing on free cash flow, raising near-term margin and valuation risk for investors. Speculative Valuation As Free Cash Flow Is Held Down By Immense Capex

About Walmart

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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