Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group raised its Walmart stake by 1.6% in Q4, buying 96,134 shares to own 6,176,874 shares worth about $688.2 million (roughly 0.08% of the company).
• Analysts maintain a consensus Buy on WMT with a consensus target price of $137.79, and several firms recently raised price targets (e.g., Wells Fargo $140, UBS $147, Tigress $150).
• Walmart slightly beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.74 vs. $0.73; revenue $190.66B vs. $188.37B), issued FY2027 EPS guidance of 2.75–2.85, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2475 (0.8% yield).

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,176,874 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 96,134 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Walmart worth $688,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,561 shares of the retailer's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Capstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the retailer's stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Ellenbecker Investment Group increased its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 14,475 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in Walmart by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, HRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,209 shares of the retailer's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $147.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price target on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price target on Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.79.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $130.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $134.69. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $125.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.74.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during 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%. The company's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $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. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total transaction of $2,555,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 486,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,203,571.56. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total transaction of $166,381.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 636,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at $79,369,743.09. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 167,195 shares of company stock worth $20,975,804. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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