NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Has $5.12 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,430 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 9,511 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,709,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 24.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $121,168,000 after purchasing an additional 229,220 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in Walmart by 0.8% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,091,126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $497,771,000 after buying an additional 42,645 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake in Walmart by 16.6% in the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,567,000 after buying an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 14,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $120.72 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $124.13 and a 200-day moving average of $113.09. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.81 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The stock has a market cap of $962.42 billion, a PE ratio of 44.06, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 486,764 shares in the company, valued at $62,203,571.56. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $1,214,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 108,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,153,389.24. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 274,278 shares of company stock valued at $33,605,809 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Wall Street Zen lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, December 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.76.

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.