L & S Advisors Inc Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc increased its Walmart stake by 25% in the fourth quarter, buying 15,712 additional shares and bringing its total to 78,501 shares valued at about $8.7 million.
• Walmart’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $0.74 and revenue of $190.66 billion, while sales rose 5.6% year over year. The company also reaffirmed FY2027 guidance and continues to be viewed favorably by most analysts.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on Walmart, with several recent price target upgrades and an average target of $138.88. At the same time, some insiders sold shares recently, and the stock was trading near its 52-week high.

L & S Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,501 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 15,712 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 0.8% of L & S Advisors Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Walmart were worth $8,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,709,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in Walmart by 16.6% in the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,010,886 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $104,182,000 after purchasing an additional 28,026 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners grew its holdings in Walmart by 466.6% in the third quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 13,343 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 10,988 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,077,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS and other analysts expect Walmart to deliver another strong quarter, helped by resilient grocery demand, e-commerce growth, and advertising momentum, which could support the stock if results meet or exceed expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Walmart’s consistent sales growth should be rewarded by the market, reinforcing the view that WMT remains a defensive growth name ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary also highlights Walmart as a long-term growth and momentum stock, with investors continuing to search for the name ahead of the report.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart said it will host its first-quarter earnings conference call on May 21, keeping attention focused on upcoming results and guidance rather than any new business update. Walmart To Host First Quarter Earnings Conference Call May 21, 2026
• Negative Sentiment: One bearish analysis argued that expectations may be too high versus Walmart’s own guidance, warning that reported sales growth may not be enough to justify a further move higher and that investors may want to trim positions.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $2,460,201.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,023,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $509,780,812.39. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 167,195 shares of company stock valued at $20,975,804. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $131.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.43 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.15. The company has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 47.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Walmart to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two 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 currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $138.88.

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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