Whittier Trust Co. Grows Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. increased its Walmart stake by 13.8% in Q4, buying 55,351 shares to hold 457,124 shares worth about $52.27 million.
• Wall Street is largely bullish on WMT—the consensus rating is "Buy" with an average price target of $137.64 and several firms raising targets into the $138–$140 range.
• Walmart slightly beat Q4 estimates (EPS $0.74 vs. $0.73; revenue $190.66B vs. $188.37B), set FY2027 EPS guidance of 2.75–2.85, announced a major store-modernization push and health/omnichannel initiatives, and saw insider selling totaling ~263,376 shares (~$32.6M) over the past 90 days under 10b5-1 plans.

Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 457,124 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 55,351 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $52,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,709,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $121,168,000 after purchasing an additional 229,220 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,010,886 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $104,182,000 after purchasing an additional 28,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Walmart by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 293,866 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $30,286,000 after purchasing an additional 14,487 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 9th. Argus raised shares of Walmart to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $137.64.

Walmart Trading Up 2.1%

Walmart stock opened at $127.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 46.53, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.34 and a 1 year high of $134.69. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $125.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.96.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $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, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total transaction of $1,638,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 674,162 shares in the company, valued at $84,162,384.08. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total transaction of $2,391,274.56. Following the sale, the director owned 4,213,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $518,923,082.96. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 263,376 shares of company stock valued at $32,598,466. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company announces its largest U.S. store modernization program — 650+ remodels and ~20 new openings through 2027 to improve layouts, tech, pickup and delivery integration, aimed at accelerating omnichannel sales and same-store traffic. Walmart Modernizes U.S. Stores As Omnichannel Investment Meets Fair Value Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding health/weight-management services (Better Care Services) to support customers using or exploring GLP-1s — a higher-margin service layer that can drive pharmacy and virtual-care revenue and deepen customer engagement. Walmart Expands Access to Weight Management Support Services for Customers on or exploring GLP-1s
• Positive Sentiment: Flipkart (Walmart-owned) plans to enter India’s ticketing market for movies and live events, offering a new revenue stream in a fast-growing entertainment sector and strengthening Flipkart’s consumer proposition. Walmart's Flipkart plans foray into India's ticketing market as live events boom
• Positive Sentiment: A small institutional buyer (BCS Wealth Management) increased its WMT stake, a sign of incremental fund interest though not a major ownership shift. BCS Wealth Management Has $1.61 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is refreshing its Great Value private-label packaging — a brand update that can support shelf appeal and private-label mix but is unlikely to move near-term revenue materially. Walmart announces a redesign of its Great Value brand
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart launched branded fashion collaborations (e.g., a Devil Wears Prada collection) — useful for marketing and traffic but unlikely to be a major earnings driver. Fashion moves: Walmart launches a collection tied to The Devil Wears Prada
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary on potential Sam’s Club membership fee increases could help U.S. club margins if implemented, but the competitive impact vs. Costco remains uncertain. Will Increased Membership Fees at Walmart's Sam's Club Actually Boost Costco's Stock Instead?
• Negative Sentiment: Several senior executives sold shares over April 15–16 (EVPs Daniel Bartlett and Christopher Nicholas, and CEO John Furner). Each sale was small relative to holdings and executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, but the headline risk can create short-term selling pressure or negative investor perception. Daniel J. Bartlett Form 4 Christopher James Nicholas Form 4 John R. Furner Form 4

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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