WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• WealthPlan Investment Management LLC cut its Walmart stake by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 47,584 shares and leaving it with 146,303 shares worth about $16.3 million.
• Walmart continues to draw generally bullish analyst sentiment, with several firms raising price targets and a consensus rating of “Buy” with an average target price of $138.88.
• The retailer recently posted solid earnings and revenue growth, beating EPS and sales estimates, while also maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.2475 per share.

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,303 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 47,584 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 1.0% of WealthPlan Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $16,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. DA Davidson set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.88.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $131.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $126.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.15. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.43 and a 1 year high of $134.69. The company has a market cap 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 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 486,764 shares in the company, valued at $62,203,571.56. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 167,195 shares of company stock worth $20,975,804 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Company 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.

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