Mariner LLC Has $447.94 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Mariner LLC increased its stake in Walmart to 4,346,434 shares (a 3.8% rise), valued at about $447.94 million at quarter-end.
• Walmart beat quarterly EPS expectations with $0.74 vs. $0.73 consensus and revenue of $190.66 billion (up 5.6% YoY), and guided FY2027 EPS to 2.75–2.85; analysts have a "Moderate Buy" consensus and a $135.76 target.
• Insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 278,278 shares worth about $33.97 million in the past 90 days, with insiders now owning roughly 0.10% of the stock.

Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,346,434 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 159,978 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC owned 0.05% of Walmart worth $447,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 435,652,710 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $44,898,368,000 after acquiring an additional 3,835,200 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter worth $5,367,770,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,298,623 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,153,176,000 after purchasing an additional 634,211 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 31,973,329 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,126,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,268,463 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,810,288,000 after purchasing an additional 934,468 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.91, for a total value of $1,508,193.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 733,841 shares in the company, valued at $84,325,669.31. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total value of $2,445,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 506,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,962,034.28. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,278 shares of company stock worth $33,974,118. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $125.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 45.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.81 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $123.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.27.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business 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%. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend payout ratio is 34.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Walmart to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $135.76.

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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