RFG Advisory LLC Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,264 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 17,048 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $12,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,298,623 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,153,176,000 after purchasing an additional 634,211 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,268,463 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,810,288,000 after purchasing an additional 934,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,990,692 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,575,541,000 after purchasing an additional 93,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $130.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $125.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.90. 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 (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The company had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart 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 value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the company'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 owned 533,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 167,195 shares of company stock worth $20,975,804 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $147.00 price objective (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.79.

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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