Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Takes Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 357,952 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $36,887,000. Walmart accounts for about 2.0% of Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,669 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.5% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 220,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,676,000 after buying an additional 3,351 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,934,519 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $302,432,000 after buying an additional 80,776 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 130,931 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,494,000 after buying an additional 5,176 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $2,460,201.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,023,209 shares in the company, valued at $509,780,812.39. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $62,203,571.56. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 279,703 shares of company stock worth $34,140,843. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ WMT opened at $125.12 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $997.23 billion, a PE ratio of 45.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $122.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.44. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.81 and a 52 week high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Walmart’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 forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price target on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Argus upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.