Saratoga Research & Investment Management Sells 9,094 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Saratoga Research & Investment Management reduced its Walmart stake by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,094 shares and leaving it with 153,526 shares valued at about $17.1 million.
• Several other institutional investors adjusted positions in Walmart, and institutional ownership overall stands at 26.76% of the company’s stock.
• Wall Street remains largely bullish on Walmart: analysts have a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $138.88, while the stock recently traded near $131.45 after a modest decline.

Saratoga Research & Investment Management lowered its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 153,526 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 9,094 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.9% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings in Walmart were worth $17,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $1,709,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised 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 worth $6,567,000 after buying an additional 9,061 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised 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 worth $104,182,000 after buying an additional 28,026 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners raised 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 worth $1,375,000 after buying an additional 10,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $11,077,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total transaction of $166,381.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 636,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,369,743.09. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly 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 ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold 167,195 shares of company stock valued at $20,975,804 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. HSBC cut shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a report on Friday, February 20th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $147.00 price objective (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.88.

Walmart Stock Down 0.8%

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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $126.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.15. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.43 and a twelve month high of $134.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.97, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

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.

About Walmart

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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