Horizon Investments LLC Sells 102,345 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC cut its position in Walmart by 26.3% in Q4, selling 102,345 shares and now holds 287,439 shares valued at about $32.02 million.
• Insider selling has been notable: executives sold 263,376 shares in the past three months (about $32.85 million), including EVP Daniel J. Bartlett and EVP Christopher J. Nicholas, with trades executed under pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans; insiders now own roughly 0.10% of the stock.
• Walmart fundamentals and guidance: the company has a $1.05 trillion market cap, reported Q4 EPS of $0.74 (beating estimates) and $190.66 billion in revenue, set FY2027 EPS guidance of $2.75–$2.85, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2475 (≈0.8% yield).

Horizon Investments LLC decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 287,439 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 102,345 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $32,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 188.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock worth $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Walmart by 20.5% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,413,236,000 after buying an additional 4,004,277 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $294,621,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1,991.9% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,549,719 shares of the retailer's stock worth $249,312,000 after buying an additional 2,427,834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total value of $166,381.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 636,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,369,743.09. The trade was a 0.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 $74,334,117.76. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 263,376 shares of company stock worth $32,851,650. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $131.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 48.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company's fifty day moving average price is $125.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.56. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $134.69.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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. On average, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart announced a third U.S. milk-processing facility, a $350 million investment to boost domestic dairy supply and vertical integration, which should cut supply-chain risk and support grocery margins. Walmart opens third U.S. milk processing facility with $350 million investment
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart earmarked millions for multiple Arizona store upgrades — investments that can boost traffic, comps and localized competitiveness. Walmart earmarks millions for multiple Arizona store upgrades
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional investor Alecta increased its Walmart stake by ~406,400 shares, a sign of confidence from a large pension investor. Alecta Pensionsforsakring Boosts Walmart Stake by 406,400 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding local-product assortments (e.g., region-specific coffee/beans) to better serve price‑sensitive consumers and differentiate merchandising — a low-cost way to improve basket relevance. Walmart Eyes Local Products as National Consumer Mood Sours
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and analyst pieces debate Walmart vs. Costco and reiterate bullish theses on WMT’s e‑commerce gains and higher‑income customer mix — these keep sentiment constructive but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Better Buy: Walmart or Costco Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish write-ups (Yahoo/InsiderMonkey summarizing a Substack thesis) highlight valuation and growth arguments; useful for sentiment but not new company action. Is Walmart Inc. (WMT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s Acres for America grants program awarded $5.4M in conservation grants — positive for ESG profile but limited direct financial impact. NFWF Announces $5.4 Million in Grants from Walmart's Acres for America Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal leadership redesign (changes to store-lead roles and retention moves for high-paid managers) suggests workforce optimization; could reduce costs or create short-term disruption depending on execution. Walmart redesigns its leadership pipeline as managers making $400K stay for longer

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $147.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. HSBC downgraded Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $137.79.

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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