Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Buys 88,414 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 562,384 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 88,414 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.7% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $57,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 212.6% during the 3rd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a new US$30 billion share repurchase program (after completing ~US$16.1B) and set a ~$0.99 annual dividend for FY27 — a capital?return push that supports EPS and the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is launching Scintilla In?Store, a real?time data platform to help suppliers manage availability and execution — this strengthens Walmart’s data moat and can raise in?store productivity and margins. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and higher price targets (Bernstein to $134; TD Cowen to $145) reflect confidence in AI?enabled retail positioning and drove buying interest. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart briefly rejoined the $1 trillion market?cap club in February, signaling renewed investor enthusiasm that non?tech mega?caps can still expand valuation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company reported its highest U.S. grocery penetration ever and record e?commerce penetration, trends that support faster profit growth versus sales. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/sector notes highlight durable momentum in ecommerce, advertising and fulfillment, but also point to some post?earnings profit?taking — mixed near?term read for shares. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Media comparisons with peers (Costco, Dollar General) keep investor focus on where Walmart sits on margins, membership dynamics and valuation — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart CEO John Furner sold 13,125 shares — an insider sale that can create short?term headlines and be interpreted as a modest negative signal. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.67.

Walmart Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $125.74 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $119.97 and its 200 day moving average is $109.81. The company has a market cap of $1.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 45.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.65. 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 $79.81 and a 1 year high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. 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 (DPR) is currently 34.31%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $9,430,445.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 402,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,772,492.88. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 261,903 shares of company stock valued at $31,496,959 over the last three months. Corporate 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.