Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Has $3.45 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,919 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,205 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,709,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in Walmart by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,010,886 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $104,182,000 after purchasing an additional 28,026 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners lifted its position in Walmart by 466.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 13,343 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 10,988 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,077,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s restructuring appears aimed at streamlining operations and improving coordination across tech and AI teams, which could boost efficiency and profitability if executed well.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary ahead of earnings remains constructive, with reports highlighting Walmart’s strong earnings-surprise track record and arguing that its premium valuation is justified by growth and execution.
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-earnings research from major analysts has reiterated favorable views on Walmart, suggesting expectations remain high heading into the company’s quarterly report.
• Neutral Sentiment: The job cuts were reported to be part of an internal reorganization rather than a direct response to AI replacing workers, which limits the read-through to near-term fundamentals. Walmart lays off or relocates about 1,000 corporate workers, WSJ reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles also framed the move as a broader digital-transformation effort, but the actual earnings impact is still unclear until Walmart reports results and guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Layoffs can sometimes signal management caution or cost pressure, and investor reaction may be tempered by the fact that Walmart’s shares already trade at a premium valuation ahead of earnings.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.72, for a total transaction of $361,688.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 596,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,334,117.76. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 167,195 shares of company stock worth $20,975,804 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price target on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $138.67.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $131.47 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.87. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.98, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Walmart Company 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.