Strs Ohio Sells 39,706 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Strs Ohio trimmed its Walmart stake by 3.0%, selling 39,706 shares and now holds 1,298,413 shares valued at $144,656,000, with WMT representing 0.5% of its portfolio (its 24th-largest holding).
• Major institutions largely added to WMT—Vanguard bought about 4.30 million shares to hold ~439.96 million shares (~$49.0B) and State Street, Fisher, Legal & General and others also increased positions; institutional ownership stands at 26.76%.
• Walmart slightly beat quarterly EPS ($0.74 vs. $0.73), reported revenue up 5.6% to $190.66B, set FY2027 guidance of $2.75–$2.85 EPS, and pays a $0.2475 quarterly dividend (≈0.8% yield).

Strs Ohio decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,298,413 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 39,706 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 0.5% of Strs Ohio's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Strs Ohio's holdings in Walmart were worth $144,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

More Walmart News

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

Walmart Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $131.60 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.65. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $125.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.67.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $147.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price target on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $137.79.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total transaction of $1,600,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $9,430,445.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 402,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,772,492.88. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 263,376 shares of company stock valued at $32,851,650. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.