Rayburn West Financial Services LLC Purchases Shares of 16,391 Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Rayburn West Financial Services disclosed a new stake in Walmart, buying 16,391 shares worth about $1.83 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership in Walmart remains heavy, with large investors like Vanguard and State Street also adding to their positions; institutions now hold 26.76% of the stock.
• Walmart has continued to draw positive attention from analysts after reporting a Q4 earnings beat, and the stock is trading near its 52-week high with several firms raising price targets.

Rayburn West Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 16,391 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,826,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock worth $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock worth $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $4,153,176,000 after buying an additional 634,211 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew 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 worth $2,810,288,000 after buying an additional 934,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,990,692 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,575,541,000 after buying an additional 93,459 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total value of $166,381.05. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.21, for a total transaction of $2,566,989.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,193,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $554,488,078.95. This represents a 0.46% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,195 shares of company stock worth $20,975,804. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $131.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 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. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $134.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $126.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.87.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $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, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $138.67.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s restructuring appears aimed at streamlining operations and improving coordination across tech and AI teams, which could boost efficiency and profitability if executed well.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary ahead of earnings remains constructive, with reports highlighting Walmart’s strong earnings-surprise track record and arguing that its premium valuation is justified by growth and execution.
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-earnings research from major analysts has reiterated favorable views on Walmart, suggesting expectations remain high heading into the company’s quarterly report.
• Neutral Sentiment: The job cuts were reported to be part of an internal reorganization rather than a direct response to AI replacing workers, which limits the read-through to near-term fundamentals. Walmart lays off or relocates about 1,000 corporate workers, WSJ reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles also framed the move as a broader digital-transformation effort, but the actual earnings impact is still unclear until Walmart reports results and guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Layoffs can sometimes signal management caution or cost pressure, and investor reaction may be tempered by the fact that Walmart’s shares already trade at a premium valuation ahead of earnings.

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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