Sherry Group Inc. Purchases New Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Sherry Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 21,108 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,362,000. Walmart accounts for 2.5% of Sherry Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America started coverage on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $137.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $138.88.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $131.45 on Monday. 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 $119.25. 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 4.85 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) 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 related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 486,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,203,571.56. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,600,725.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,287 shares in the company, valued at $83,821,522.52. This represents a 1.87% 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 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.