Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Sells 12,819 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Franklin Street Advisors cut its Walmart stake by 6.9% in Q4, selling 12,819 shares and retaining 172,602 shares valued at about $19.23 million.
• Walmart beat the quarter with $0.74 EPS (vs. $0.73 est.) and $190.66B revenue (vs. $188.37B est.), and set FY2027 guidance of 2.75–2.85 EPS (sell‑side consensus ~2.55 EPS).
• Notable insider selling occurred recently: EVP Christopher J. Nicholas sold 34,082 shares and CEO C. Douglas McMillon sold 19,416, with insiders offloading 274,278 shares (~$33.8M) in the last 90 days while owning 0.10% of the company.

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,602 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 12,819 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Walmart were worth $19,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $129.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.13, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50-day moving average is $125.71 and its 200 day moving average is $114.92. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.16 and a 1 year high of $134.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for 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%. Walmart's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart's payout ratio is 36.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, December 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $147.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $134.00 price target (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two equities research 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, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.12.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Neuberger Berman analyst John San Marco says Walmart (and Costco) deserve rich valuations, which supports investor confidence in WMT’s long-term growth positioning and helps sentiment. Costco and Walmart Deserve Their Rich Valuations, This Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Celebrity investor/media support: Jim Cramer continues to highlight Walmart as a top retail holding — media praise amplifies retail investor interest and can sustain buying momentum. Jim Cramer Makes Major Prediction For Walmart (WMT) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth initiatives: Coverage notes Walmart’s EV charging rollout as a new, tangible growth/ESG initiative that can drive store traffic and small-service revenue streams while underscoring long-term network leverage. Walmart EV Charging Push Adds New Dimension To Investment Case
• Neutral Sentiment: YTD performance and fundamentals: Coverage highlights a ~14% YTD rise driven by omnichannel e‑commerce, ad monetization and memberships, but notes the stock carries a premium multiple and faces macro risk — useful context but mixed for immediate price action. Walmart Stock Gains 14% YTD: Buy, Hold or Take Profits Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate updates and forums: Walmart presented at the J.P. Morgan Retail Round-Up (transcript available) — investor takeaways will depend on operational detail and execution updates in the transcript. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Presents at J.P. Morgan Retail Round Up Forum 2026 Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor analyst model tweak: Erste Group trimmed its FY2028 EPS forecast by a penny while maintaining a Strong‑Buy — a negligible earnings cut but a note that analysts are still parsing forward assumptions.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation & re‑rating risk: Several pieces ask whether WMT is still reasonably priced after a big multi‑year run; premium multiples raise the risk of pullbacks if growth or margin improvements slow. Is Walmart (WMT) Still Reasonably Priced After A 51% One Year Share Price Surge?
• Negative Sentiment: Sam’s Club membership price hikes: New Sam’s Club fee increases (effective May 1) could lift ARPU, but risk member backlash or churn that investors will monitor. New Sam’s Club Price Hikes Take Effect May 1. Should You Buy Walmart Stock First?

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,082,852. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $2,313,804.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,274,856 shares in the company, valued at $509,434,589.52. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 274,278 shares of company stock worth $33,825,793. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.

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