Souders Financial Advisors Buys 8,846 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Souders Financial Advisors boosted its Walmart stake by 141.1%, buying 8,846 shares to hold 15,114 shares valued at about $1.684 million at quarter end.
• Company insiders sold a total of 263,376 shares (≈$32.85 million) over the last quarter — including sales by EVPs Daniel Bartlett and John Rainey — leaving insiders with roughly 0.10% ownership.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus "Buy" and an average price target of $137.79; Walmart also reported quarterly EPS of $0.74 (beating estimates) and set FY2027 guidance of 2.75–2.85 EPS.

Souders Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 141.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,114 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,846 shares during the quarter. Souders Financial Advisors' holdings in Walmart were worth $1,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Edge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $531,000. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. LVZ Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 10,439 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the retailer's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sandro Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $2,969,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart announced a third U.S. milk-processing facility, a $350 million investment to boost domestic dairy supply and vertical integration, which should cut supply-chain risk and support grocery margins. Walmart opens third U.S. milk processing facility with $350 million investment
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart earmarked millions for multiple Arizona store upgrades — investments that can boost traffic, comps and localized competitiveness. Walmart earmarks millions for multiple Arizona store upgrades
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional investor Alecta increased its Walmart stake by ~406,400 shares, a sign of confidence from a large pension investor. Alecta Pensionsforsakring Boosts Walmart Stake by 406,400 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding local-product assortments (e.g., region-specific coffee/beans) to better serve price‑sensitive consumers and differentiate merchandising — a low-cost way to improve basket relevance. Walmart Eyes Local Products as National Consumer Mood Sours
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and analyst pieces debate Walmart vs. Costco and reiterate bullish theses on WMT’s e‑commerce gains and higher‑income customer mix — these keep sentiment constructive but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Better Buy: Walmart or Costco Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish write-ups (Yahoo/InsiderMonkey summarizing a Substack thesis) highlight valuation and growth arguments; useful for sentiment but not new company action. Is Walmart Inc. (WMT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s Acres for America grants program awarded $5.4M in conservation grants — positive for ESG profile but limited direct financial impact. NFWF Announces $5.4 Million in Grants from Walmart's Acres for America Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal leadership redesign (changes to store-lead roles and retention moves for high-paid managers) suggests workforce optimization; could reduce costs or create short-term disruption depending on execution. Walmart redesigns its leadership pipeline as managers making $400K stay for longer

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was 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 directly owned 636,843 shares in the company, valued at $79,369,743.09. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total value of $2,555,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 486,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,203,571.56. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 263,376 shares of company stock valued at $32,851,650 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Erste Group Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $134.00 price objective (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.79.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $131.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $125.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.67. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $134.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 48.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

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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