Walmart Inc. $WMT Stock Holdings Increased by Chesapeake Asset Management LLC

Chesapeake Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1,723.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,218 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,877 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $693,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its position in shares of Walmart by 212.6% during the 3rd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total value of $2,555,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 486,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,203,571.56. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $1,214,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 108,294 shares in the company, valued at $13,153,389.24. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 274,278 shares of company stock worth $33,605,809 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $120.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $962.42 billion, a PE ratio of 44.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.66. 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 fifty day moving average of $124.13 and a 200-day moving average of $113.09. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $79.81 and a one year high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial increased 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 target price on Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $134.00 price objective (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.76.

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.