Northeast Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Northeast Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 966.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,014 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,450 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $121,168,000 after acquiring an additional 229,220 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in Walmart by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,091,126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $497,771,000 after acquiring an additional 42,645 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in Walmart by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its position in Walmart by 16.4% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,833,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,861,000 after purchasing an additional 539,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Walmart by 5.2% in the third 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. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on sales and profits; e?commerce (+24%) and advertising (+37%) drove revenue and operating income upside, showing early benefits from automation and margin leverage. Walmart reports revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Board boosted capital returns — a 5% raise to the annual dividend ($0.99) and an active buyback program cited in analyst coverage — which supports income investors and buyback-driven EPS accretion. Walmart Raises Annual Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive — DA Davidson reaffirmed a Buy and Argus upgraded to Strong Buy — providing support amid the pullback. DA Davidson Reaffirms Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed (EVP sold ~1,255 shares) — routine scheduling and small relative to total holdings; not a clear signal of company trouble. SEC Form 4
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon has surpassed Walmart in annual revenue — largely symbolic but increases competitive spotlight as both firms chase AI and ad revenue opportunities. Amazon surpasses Walmart in annual revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s FY?2027 EPS guidance (2.75–2.85) came in below consensus (~2.94), and Q1 EPS guidance was modest — investors punished the stock for the conservative outlook despite the beat. Walmart Q4 press release / guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: bearish research argues current multiples (high forward P/E and forward EBIT ratios) aren’t justified by the company’s modest near?term operating income growth forecast — prompting calls to trim positions. Walmart Q4: Too Expensive… Sell Walmart Before It Loses Its $1 Trillion Valuation

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total value of $2,445,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 506,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,962,034.28. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total value of $1,574,868.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 727,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,251,328.45. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 211,696 shares of company stock valued at $25,176,467 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Argus raised shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $119.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.97.

Walmart Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of WMT opened at $124.87 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.81 and a 1-year high of $134.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $119.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $995.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.66, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors 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 payout ratio is currently 32.87%.

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.