Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Bought by Stephens Inc. AR

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR increased its Walmart stake by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 55,336 shares and bringing its total holding to 1,443,129 shares worth about $160.8 million.
• Analysts remain largely positive on Walmart, with multiple firms reiterating or initiating buy ratings and a consensus target price of $138.88. Commentary also points to strong grocery demand, e-commerce growth, and advertising momentum ahead of earnings.
• Insiders have been selling shares over the past 90 days, including director C. Douglas McMillon and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, though the company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and continued to raise attention with its upcoming earnings call.

Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,443,129 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 55,336 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 2.0% of Stephens Inc. AR's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Walmart were worth $160,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richard Young Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $249,000. AMJ Financial Wealth Management grew its stake in Walmart by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 86,294 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,614,000 after purchasing an additional 25,883 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in Walmart by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 138,641 shares of the retailer's stock worth $15,446,000 after purchasing an additional 40,761 shares during the period. HFM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 1,041.8% during the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 628 shares of the retailer's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 45,067 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,021,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $150.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Two 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $554,488,078.95. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.72, for a total value of $361,688.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 596,008 shares in the company, valued at $74,334,117.76. This trade represents a 0.48% 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 a total of 167,195 shares of company stock valued at $20,975,804 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $131.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.97, a PEG ratio of 4.93 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. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.43 and a 12-month high of $134.69. The business's 50 day moving average is $126.37 and its 200 day moving average is $119.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given 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 payout ratio is presently 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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