SageGuard Financial Group LLC Takes $22.89 Million Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• SageGuard Financial Group LLC bought 205,485 shares of Walmart, valued at approximately $22.89 million, making WMT about 3.6% of its portfolio and its fourth-largest holding.
• Large institutions (AQR, Amundi, Vanguard) have materially increased Walmart positions, and analysts maintain a consensus "Buy" with an average target of $137.79 and multiple firms issuing $140–$150 price targets.
• Walmart (market cap $1.04 trillion) recently beat quarterly revenue and EPS estimates, issued FY2027 EPS guidance of 2.75–2.85, yields ~0.8%, and insiders have sold about $30.3 million of stock in the past 90 days.

SageGuard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 205,485 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $22,893,000. Walmart makes up approximately 3.6% of SageGuard Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 188.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,199,907,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Walmart by 20.5% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,413,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,004,277 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $44,898,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835,200 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $294,621,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1,991.9% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,549,719 shares of the retailer's stock worth $249,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427,834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price objective on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. HSBC downgraded Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.79.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $129.98 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $125.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.53. 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 fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart announced a new business unit, Upstream Facility Services, to sell maintenance services to other businesses — a push to monetize logistics/operations expertise beyond retail that could add recurring revenue and higher-margin service income. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Diversifies Beyond Retail Into Maintenance Services
• Positive Sentiment: Sam’s Club launched a one‑hour delivery option for members, escalating competition with Costco and Amazon on convenience and helping Walmart drive higher basket frequency and membership value. Faster delivery supports digital growth and same‑day monetization. Walmart's warehouse club ups the pressure on Costco with a new member perk
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on WMT to $140 and keeps an "overweight" rating — a visible buy‑side endorsement that can lift sentiment and flows into the stock. Benzinga analyst note
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding healthcare/omnichannel offerings (Better Care Services, GLP‑1 support) and integrating pharmacy/virtual care — moves that broaden addressable market and higher‑margin services revenue. Walmart Boosts Growth Playbook With Healthcare, Omnichannel Push
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is revamping its Great Value private‑label across ~10,000 items and modernizing stores and delivery staging — initiatives aimed at margin improvement, stronger value perception and better e‑commerce fulfillment. Walmart Revamps ‘Great Value’ Brand as Shoppers Shift to Lower-Priced Options
• Neutral Sentiment: WMT is a frequently trending stock and subject of value/peer comparisons (e.g., Carrefour) and analyst roundup pieces — useful for sentiment tracking but not immediate catalysts. CRRFY vs. WMT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnerships like the Back to the Roots soil‑health product at Walmart are positive for brand and CSR but represent a modest direct financial impact. Back to the Roots Scales Regenerative Movement Nationwide
• Negative Sentiment: A California court complaint alleges Amazon coerced vendors to pressure retailers like Walmart into raising prices — if investigations expand, it could create regulatory scrutiny or supplier dynamics that indirectly affect Walmart’s pricing and relationships. California says Amazon coerced companies into illegally raising prices

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 636,843 shares in the company, valued at $79,369,743.09. This trade represents a 0.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total transaction of $2,391,274.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,213,406 shares in the company, valued at $518,923,082.96. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 243,960 shares of company stock worth $30,284,661 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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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