Private Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Private Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 99.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,898 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,444 shares during the period. Private Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its position in Walmart by 212.6% during the third quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total value of $2,391,274.56. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,213,406 shares in the company, valued at $518,923,082.96. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $1,214,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 108,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,153,389.24. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 274,278 shares of company stock worth $33,825,793 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $123.50 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $124.43 and a 200 day moving average of $113.83. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.81 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 market cap of $984.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.07, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. DA Davidson set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.76.

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.