16,391 Shares in Walmart Inc. $WMT Acquired by Rayburn West Financial Services LLC

Rayburn West Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 16,391 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,826,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,709,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew 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 worth $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew 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 worth $104,182,000 after purchasing an additional 28,026 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners grew 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 worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 10,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,077,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 596,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,334,117.76. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total transaction of $166,381.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 636,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,369,743.09. The trade was a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 167,195 shares of company stock valued at $20,975,804. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

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.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $131.47 on Thursday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $126.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted 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 company had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior 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. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 36.13%.

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.